Of Time and the Snorkack
by Wrexscar
Summary: One moment you are 27 the next 9 again . What would you change after all everyone lived happily ever after didn't they? No pairings. A Luna Lovegood time travel tale. Read authors notes at the end of chapter 1. This leads into The Time of Consequences, consequences is abandoned. Consider this a dead fic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer

This is a work of fanfiction. I make no claims of ownership over these characters and settings.

J. K. Rowling owns Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and other characters.

A.N.

This is an alternative character interpretation and a ripple effect time travel story.

**Of Time and the Snorkack**

Luna Scamander crawled through the Swedish countryside, her pale eyes burning with a determination that would have surprised any of the friends who thought they knew her. This wasn't just zoology: this, to her, was redemption, or at least what she hoped to be her father's redemption.

Xenophilius Lovegood had, to all who knew him, been thought of as a bit of an eccentric. His interest in cryptozoology had always just been an indicator that he was not quite of the norm, but no stranger than some of his peers and their obsession with Quidditch facts and figures. The fact that he was drawn to the library first and then the edges of the Forbidden Forest next was just remarked upon, not an all consumed character trait like it could have become with others.

Certainly, Selene had seen the kind and loving man he was, for their courtship and marriage were seen by all as a true love match. When they had left Hogwarts and married soon after, it was no surprise to anyone. The family home, the Rookery, as it was called, was mildly unusual, but no more than their nearest wizarding neighbours at the Burrow. The work Xenophilius was most famous for, The Quibbler, had different interpretations depending on who read it. Within the cryptozoology community, it was a well-respected peer journal; those who knew Xenophilius personally felt it summed up the man perfectly. The articles on the newest discoveries in the animal world were always well written, fantastically researched and amongst the best in the world on their subjects. The news articles always had Xenophilius's disrespect for the establishment at their core, but as these were mixed in with satirical and joke articles, it was always hard to tell what his true beliefs were.

The majority of the wizarding public never saw beyond the obvious and thought it was a joke. This, however, was important to Xenophilius, especially when the last editor of the Daily Prophet had met such an unfortunate accident so soon after ranting to his senior staff about the latest attempt of certain establishment figures to bribe him into silence. No better to be thought of as a joke than either a ministry mouthpiece or a noble corpse. Luna thought back to one of those times sitting on her mother's knee as a little girl getting ready for bed and, as children the world over do, questioning the facts as given to her.

"Why do I have to clean my teeth?"

Her dad, with a smile that reached his eyes, told her of the rotfangs and their hold on the world. Both Luna and her mother joined in and added insights as they bounced ideas off each other, fuelled by a five-year-old's imagination. As it was a slow week at the Quibbler with no new research or breakthroughs in the world of cryptozoology, the Rotfang Conspiracy was front page news as well as incorporated in articles on pages 4 and 5. It also enabled Xenophilius to say exactly what he thought when reporting Bagshot's latest speech. His insights were cutting and accurate but thankfully not noticed by those in power to make life awkward for the Lovegoods.

Life changed, however, in Luna's ninth year. Luna's mother was, to all accounts, a genius in the world of charms and spell research. Her private lab in an out building at the family home closely resembled a bomb shelter from the Muggle world, which is what it had started as. Two feet thick concrete walls were, however, only the start of the building's defences: it had strengthening runes carved into every surface as well as Selene's own versions of impervious spells cast as part of her standard routine every morning and afternoon when she was at work. Luna knew that if the lights above the door were on, she was never to enter the 'chamber of charms', as her mother liked to call it. So she carefully checked that the lights were off as she skipped over to her mum's workspace to tell her lunch was ready. They never knew what Selene had been working on that morning and nobody could honestly say if Luna bursting through the door was a factor in her mum's accident. What they could be certain of, however, was that a nine-year-old witnessing her mother half melting, half burning to death was a fate they wouldn't wish on their worst enemy and that it certainly had a traumatic effect on the family.

Xenophilius spent the next week in a daze, hardly remembering to dress or eat; he certainly was in no fit state to comfort Luna. The funeral arrangements were made mostly by the extended family; the local community bustled around leaving hotpots and casseroles. The day of the funeral came around. It was a sunny and bright spring morning, but it had two events that pointed to how the future would go. In conversation with Amos Diggory, Xenophilius blamed Selene's death on the rotfangs; they had obviously printed too much of the truth. Luna also had an encounter with a neighbour. Molly Weasley rushed up to Luna and engulfed her into a huge bone-crushing hug. As Molly launched herself into a dramatic speech, Luna just stared slightly off from Molly and finally asked as Molly paused for breath, "Did the wrackspurts make you do that?" A flustered Molly left not long after that.

That day marked the path for the future. Not even Xenophilius's closest friends now knew what he genuinely believed in any more and Luna had found herself a way to keep people and the hurt at arm's length. The Quibbler carried ever more fanciful stories and even the cryptozoological readers, who were the backbone of the subscribers, began to fall off. Xenophilius's main obsession at this time was the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, intermixed with his unique mix on the news. This continued into Luna's Hogwarts years. Luna kept herself distant from people and Xenophilius kept himself distant from reality. But as a rock thrown into a pool sends out ripples that have a wider and wider impact on things around them, so Harry Potter's re-entry into the wizarding world affected Luna and the Quibbler.

Luna found herself with friends who would stand and bleed with her if necessary, and for the first time in his life Xenophilius found himself taking a stand and truly nailed his colours to the mast, just in time for the war to rip the country to shreds and to rip Xenophilius's life even further apart. Luna was captured and held at Malfoy Manor. As hell on earth went, she came out better than most: as a pureblood who was needed as both bait and as a guarantee of her father's good behaviour, she wasn't tortured or raped, although having ears and eyes she knew that she was the lucky one, so she put back on the Loony persona and waited. While she waited, the Quibbler became another mouthpiece for Voldemort, and Xenophilius's waltz with sanity become ever stranger. Then Harry came as he usually did, first to Xenophilius who tried to turn him over to Death Eaters, then to Luna's prison where he rescued her.

When the war was done, Luna found herself a hero, Xenophilius, a pariah. The Quibbler, which during the war had gone from a voice of the oppressed to a dictator's mouthpiece, was now treated with distain and sundry by all and finally stopped printing. It was after the story of trying to hand over the golden three to Death Eaters was published in the prophet that Xenophilius finally broke. Returning home after being pelted with rubbish in the street, Xenophilius locked himself away in the charms chamber and his mind finally snapped. It was thankfully not Luna but Arthur Weasley who found him; Arthur had heard what had happened while working at the Ministry and so decided to check in on him before heading home. He found Xenophilius sitting in a corner, rocking and giggling. He was transferred to St Mungo's and he died two days later; no attempts to make him eat or drink had been successful.

Luna took to travelling the world. Her quest to discover new animals was put down as a driven personality, not just the desire to be anywhere but what was left of her home. Her marriage to Rolf Scamander was for much the same reason: a need to return to anywhere that wasn't the Rookery. Rolf was a good man and Luna did love him; they had even talked of starting a family. Rolf had seen how much Luna loved her little namesake, but Luna had one more important discovery to go before she settled down.

That was what brought her to the Swedish countryside, disillusioned, silenced and wearing a hat of her own design: it had runes imbedded within it to, or so she hoped, stop her thoughts from being broadcast. It was her latest theory that those thrice damned Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were natural telepaths; how else did they know not to be where she was looking for them? She now knew they existed. To be precise, she knew something out here existed than hadn't been documented, since tracks and spoors had to be made by something. She was hoping that, if she could find evidence that the Snorkacks existed, she could relaunch The Quibbler, keep it strictly a science journal, and go some way to redeeming her father's reputation, maybe not to the public at large, but within the community that the man had considered his peers. So that was what found her crawling through the trees on Omberg Mountain as she slowly pushed her way into a clearing. She couldn't believe her eyes and just lay motionless for a moment. Directly in front of her was a whole colony of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, from young, with their immature horns still soft and slightly floppy, through to fully mature old bucks, their horns standing proud and rigid. She slowly moved her hand down to her belt pouch: she needed a photo of this scene, needed it so badly that it was almost a physical thing. She needed hard evidence of the sort even Hermione would accept. But as she looked up from her belt, camera in hand, everything had changed. The old buck was now standing directly in front of her, flanked by two other mature males; the rest of the colony was scurrying away. Well, she thought, the whole colony would have been nice, but proof was still proof.

The old buck looked her in the eye and bowed to her. Luna doubted herself for a moment; had she finally snapped like her father? Had the driveness finally gotten to her? But no, the buck did it again. Oh well, she thought, how can the insane tell if they are? I'll just pretend this is reality unless it becomes obvious it's not. Luna decided to return the bow; as she did her hat, which was slightly too big for her, wobbled on her head, and she heard her name being called. "Luna…" She was sure that something else had been said, but the hat came back into position on her head and it went silent.

"Well," she thought, "bye, bye, sanity, we only had a flirtatious relationship at best." With that, and moving slowly so not as to startle the animals too much, she removed her hat.

A voice filled with laughter resounded in her head. "Luna, Luna, Luna, what are we going to do with you? You are getting far too good at this game."

"Good? Game? Would it be too much to ask what are you talking about?"

"Well, I suppose you could call it hide and seek. I know you've found me and some of the others before, but to find the whole colony is remarkable. I don't think anyone has managed that before."

"Excuse me, but I've found you before? Why don't I remember this?" The male to the right of the old buck nodded at her and answered, "Yes, you've found us before. In my own timeline, you've found me twice in the last twelve hours."

"All right," said Luna, "try to explain that to me slower."

The old buck took over the conversation. "We have many abilities that you humans don't, Luna. Telepathy is the least of them. We also have an ability to move people back along their timelines."

"Time travel? And telepathy. No wonder I couldn't find you before."

"It is not time travel as you commonly think of it. We move you back along your own timeline; we usually do this by two hours, removing your memories in the process. It was a natural ability we developed to avoid prey; in the two hours we've gained, we make sure we are elsewhere. The problem we are having with you is twofold. Most wild animals don't go on a two hour hunt but are creatures of opportunity; you, however, are single-minded in your quest to find us. Also, although we can remove some of your memories, we can't remove your skills, and you, my dear, are remarkably skilled at finding us."

"It's what I do," said Luna with no hint of an apology. She wasn't altogether happy with the news that she had the Snorkacks' equivalent of Obliviate performed on her. "So, for the record, how many times have I found you?"

For the first time, the old buck had a serious tone to his voice. "I'm afraid too many to let this continue, Luna. You are right to be afraid of the effects of being memory wiped too many times by us; I fear to try it again on you. So I offer you an alternative. As we have our whole colony here, we can move you back as far as you want in the past. Take this offer, name your year, and we will let you keep your memories. Turn this down, and I will have to clear your memory, but as to what that will do to your sanity, I don't know."

"That's not much of a choice. Pick when I want to go back, or end my life like daddy, insane in a secure ward."

"His life doesn't have to end like that, Luna. You can go back far enough to stop it from happening."

Luna now paused to consider. She had no choice: she would have to agree to be sent back. But when, when would be far enough back to keep dad from falling down the road to insanity? The day he was pelted in town? No, further back, the first crack was obvious her mother's death; could she go far enough back to save her mother?

Suddenly the little bit of regrets she had of thinking of leaving Rolf burnt in the determination of saving her mother and from that changing her father, too.

The buck looked at her. "It will take a moment or two to call everyone together. We will need them all to move you that far back, Luna." Seeing the look that crossed her face, he answered, "Telepath, remember. You will have all your memories from the last eighteen years and all your skills; you will be somewhat precocious when you get to Hogwarts. Try to stop you father printing so much about us this time, since we do enjoy our privacy. The more you change, the less useful your memories of this life will be. Any questions?"

Luna's head swam as she tried to think of a coherent question. "Do you know what I'll experience once I'm back? Will I one moment be a nine-year-old, and the next a twenty-seven-year-old in a nine-year-old's body?"

"Honestly, we can't tell you. We have never done this to ourselves and no human we have done it to has ever come to tell us how it worked for them. We can only say good luck, and may your past be happier the second time around."

Luna looked up from making eye contact to see the whole colony was surrounding her. Luna blinked; whatever she was expecting, it was something other than this: her mother standing tall above her. "Wake up, sleepy, happy new year."

**A.N.**

So my first ever chapter of my first ever fanfic.

Let's be honest here. The tone varies in style as it goes on. I had the intention of keeping this a strictly Luna POV story. I throw that idea out the window halfway through.

Chapters 4- 10 are unbeta-ed and while I use a spell checker my grammar sucks. Please don't complain I know, I'm a 40 yr old dyslexic. I know better, just my brain refuse to write better.

It's not too much of a spoiler to say that by this point in the story, as I write this note I'm on chapter 20. Harry is still only 11 and no one is dating anyone else. (With the exception of canon established married couples.) Don't try to guess who will end up with whom by the end because I haven't decided yet.

However Ron and Hermione is not going to happen and Harry Ginny is unlikely. Harry Hermione is possible but so is Harry Megan Jones.

**This is the most important thing.  
><strong>

21 chapters in I have only just got to the first Hogwarts Halloween. I end this there but will be starting a new tale that continues with the characters and story. However the new tale is **abandoned.**

**Consider this a dead fic. **

**So fair warning.**

Some people really like this some hate it. Some can't get round the idea that Luna doesn't keep talking about nargles. I recommend Arpad Hruntr for those who love the cannon Luna. I can't write her that way so I have given her an alternative personality that explains those habits without having to write those habits.

At this point the books are canon and Luna has gone everything you've read about. I have however changed her motives a touch.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Disclaimer. All characters belong to J K Rowling I'm just playing with them for fun, no copyright infringement is intended I'm certainly making no money from this.

Chapter 2

Selene Lovegood suddenly found that her slightly sleepy, reluctant to wake daughter was now wide awake in her arms and crying her eyes out but, above all, was not letting go. Luna cried with joy, sadness, a slight hysteria and panic coming in on top. What was she to do? Her mum was back, her mum was back, but how could she save her? She'd just gotten her back; she couldn't lose her again. Her mum was back. She wept for the first time in grief for her mum's death; she wept for joy at being able to hold her again; she wept because she knew that once she stopped, she would have to explain why she was crying, and what could she say?

What could she say? This was her family at its best, when behind closed doors they were always open, always honest, always supportive of each other. Her parents never lied to her about the world and tried to explain the differences between facts and their own prejudices.

"Luna, Luna. Shhh, little girl, I'm here."

Little girl? Luna thought of another problem. My mum is now only five years older than me.

Xenophilius stood awkwardly in the doorway; he had heard Luna crying and watched as the high tide mark passed and Luna settled into soft sobs. He waited, not wanting to interfere if Selene had it all in hand, but close enough to hear any instructions that she might give.

Luna looked sadly up at her dad; here he was still a man in his prime, and Luna realised how many of her memories of him were of a broken man after her mum's death. His vigour had gone then, too; his smile was brittle after that, never showing the joy that she remembered while sitting on his knee. Luna reached out an arm to him. "Daddy." It took but a moment for her father to join them and Luna was engulfed in a family hug. She had to keep this; she had to keep them both safe. The how was still travelling around in her mind, but in the end there could be only one option.

"Mum, dad, I have quite a story for you."

"What's upsetting you, moonchild?" Her mum gently coaxed her. "I can tell this goes a little beyond bad dreams."

Luna laughed for the first time that morning. "I think, mum, that goes as understatement of the year."

"And we're only eight hours into this one so far," muttered Xenophilius.

"Shush, Xeno." The last thing Selene wanted was for Luna to bottle up whatever had brought on this storm of emotion.

"It's okay, mum, I love the humour. But this is a bit much to just blurt out here and now. Is it okay if I go and shower and I'll try get things sorted in my head, so when I talk to you over breakfast I stand a chance of making sense?"

"Of course, dear, whatever you feel is best."

Xeno left the room quickly. Selene paused at the door and watched as Luna jumped off her bed, missed her step completely, and fell flat on her face. As Selene rushed to help, Luna laughed to herself; she was sure her legs used to be longer and her centre of gravity was higher up as well. Luna assured her mum she was fine and rather drunkenly made her way to the bathroom, watching her feet the whole way.

"So what do you think that was about?" Xeno asked Selene as she settled at the kitchen table.

"I don't know. Normally I can read her moods, but she was everywhere then emotionally. Joy and grief were the main emotions, but she had some real turmoil and I don't think even she could tell you exactly what she was feeling. I think that there was a lot of fear in there, too, so let me warn you, Xeno, treat this next conversation more seriously than you started to upstairs. I hate the idea that something could scare her that much. I am planning to be as supportive as possible. In the meantime I'm not going to try and guess. I don't want to close off any avenues in my own head, which Luna might take as rejection."

Meanwhile, Luna was standing clean and fresh and looking at her wardrobe with despair. It was full of little girl clothes. On the bright side, at least, it was full of little girl clothes chosen by a woman with good taste; she shuddered slightly at some of the outfits her father had let her get away with wearing. After her mum's death, Xeno's main concerns were modesty and warmth; everything after that was up to her. She had spent from the age of nine to fourteen, until Harry and Ginny had become true friends to her, trying to keep people away; strange costumes were just another thing that stopped people from meeting the real you.

Luna had spent most of the last ten years on one expedition or another, and her dress had been functional for most of that time. Leggings and skirts did not appeal to her, which was what weather and the wardrobe seemed to be insisting she wear. She eventually settled on some cargo pants and an old sweater; she seemed to remember these being her outdoor helping in the garden clothes. Luna thought of herself as an outdoor woman, so these clothes suited her to the ground. She tied her hair back roughly in a ponytail and headed downstairs for what was certainly the hardest conversation she'd ever have in her life, though whether that was nine or twenty-seven years long, it was a little hard to judge.

Luna settled into a chair at the head of the kitchen table. Her parents sat opposite each other and looked up to her, and Luna could see the emotions on their faces: fear, worry, and concern were all there, but what filled Luna's heart was the driving force beyond all these emotions: love for her. Luna nervously wrapped both hands around her mug of tea and took a sip. "Mum, dad, I'm going to tell you a tale that will make the Rotfang Conspiracy seem tame and rational by comparison."

"You'd be surprised how many of our readers seem to believe it," muttered Xeno, earning himself a look which he knew was a prelude to a kick if he spoke out of line again.

"I know as a scientist you like proof, not just wild tales, so I'll offer what I can. Mum, can I borrow your wand?"

Selene was startled by that idea, but if this was what Luna felt she needed, she would offer it. The most she expected from her untrained nine-year-old would be maybe a few sparks.

Luna nodded in thanks to her mum and thought of that moment she had hugged her again._ "Expecto Patronum_."

Xeno hadn't really known what to expect, but he was certain if you'd asked him this morning if he'd be watching a fully corporal patronus of a hare running across his kitchen table cast by his nine-year-old daughter, well, he would have given you long odds against.

Luna laughed slightly and allowed the hare to fade away. "I must admit, I wasn't altogether certain that would work." She looked at the stunned faces of her parents and laughed out loud. "Oh, your faces are priceless." She handed her mother her wand back and looked down at her tea again. "Now comes the hard part. Mum, dad, I'm not exactly the same girl you put to bed last night," she blurted out the last part. "December 31st, 1989, I couldn't have cast that spell. I doubt I could have even cast a simple Lumos yesterday."

"So what's changed, sweetheart? That's high level magic. I didn't learn to cast the Patronus until after I left Hogwarts."

"What's changed is when yesterday was. For you, it was 1989; for me, yesterday was June 4th, 2008. I have a full extra eighteen years' worth of memories and skills and experiences to draw on." Luna watched her parents' reaction to this news. Her dad, she could see, was shocked enough that he had put on his professional poker face from conducting interviews with rurals who claimed to have just seen a Flobbering Grubsnerk despite it being completely out of season for them. Her mum was just trying to formulate a reasonable response, and Luna watched her jaw work soundless for a moment before she finally asked a question.

"So how did you come back? Time travel of the type you describe is beyond wizards at the moment. Did you become an Unspeakable? They are rumoured to have access to some sort of dimensional portal that could be used as a time travel device. Is this a development of a new type of time turner? Why did you come back? Is the future that bleak? Is the world in ruins? Is this some sort of do or die mission on your part?"

Luna sat stunned. She had only really ever seen her mum as her mum before; she had never really thought of the type of person that goes into spell research and how inquisitive they must be, but above all she never realised just how much like Hermione her mum could be.

"Mum, let me try to tell this my way rather than answer your questions. I came back because I encountered an animal that has the ability to throw its predators back in time as an escape mechanism."

"Snorkacks," her dad murmured. "I've never heard a credible account of their existence before."

Luna smiled at her father. "Yes, dad, Snorkacks, and you never would have met anyone with a decent account of meeting them, as they usually erase your memory just before they send you back. They are moral creatures and they had come to the point that if they followed their normal behaviour of wiping my memory and sending me back two hours, it would have done untold damage to my brain, possibly sending me insane, so they told me to pick a year and here I am."

"You've careful skated around some issues there, Luna. What do you intend to do with your future knowledge, love? Why did you pick this year out of the twenty-seven you had available to you? Not to mention how are we all going to work now? In one sense, you are my little girl; in another, you are only five years younger than me."

"Yes, mum, I picked this year for a reason, and yes, I intend to use my knowledge to prevent disasters, but how far will I go? I'm still struggling with that."

"Luna, please be careful. The consequences of interfering with causality may be beyond what we can imagine."

"Let me give you an example of my thinking at the moment, mum. If I can save the life of a person, especially if their death was a tragic accident, then I think I should. However, should I allow one of my best friends to marry her teenage sweetheart, knowing that five years down the line she will be miserable, unhappy, borderline alcoholic and willing to contemplate extramarital affairs, although her own sense of morals will never let her take that step? What about the best man I've ever known? Right now he is miserable alone, probably locked in a cupboard, definitely living with people who fear and hate him. What do I do about him? Every instinct I have urges me to pick up a wand, apparate to him, hex his relatives into the pond scum they are and bring him here. But then what does that do to him when everything in the world comes crashing down when he carries us all on his back? If he doesn't burn now, how will he know he can resist and overcome the fire?" Tears were streaming down Luna's cheeks now. "So, yes, I have to be careful, yes, I have to choose wisely. I have to consider the wider impact of something that to anyone would have only have one answer. Hell yes, save Harry, but will I? I don't know. Will I let my friends' slow motion car crash marriage happen? I don't know. But will I allow you, mum, to burn to death in a little over three months' time while researching some pointless spell? I think the answer to that one is hell no."

Xeno may not have been a man of action, but he knew this was a time to move. His baby girl now had floods of tears running down her face, was full on shouting and had a hysterical tone to her voice; his wife had to be close to fainting, her face was bone white and she too had tears running freely down her face. Xeno held his family close, and he believed his daughter implicitly. The changes in her from one day to the next didn't just hint but shouted to the hills that Luna had changed, but the absolute love and need of acceptance she displayed especially of her mother said that she was still his daughter, if not his little girl. Anyone who had tracked down a Snorkack was worthy of his and the whole cryptozoologist community's respect. Xeno listened as the sobbing subsided; he dreaded to think about what would happen to him if Selene died. It was completely unthinkable to him; she was the bright centre of his universe. He knew that if it was just him and Selene, he wouldn't want to go on without her, but he would have to for Luna. He had a sudden surge of emotion for what this Luna must have gone through, a mother dead and a father unable to cope with his grief. What would life be like for such a child, what sort of woman would she grow into? Well, in once sense, he had that answer: the child in his arms was that woman. He had witnessed some of the steel within just then in her declaration that she would prevent her mother's death.

The women in his arms were slowly starting to surface from this latest plunge into the pool of tears.

"I will do all I can to save you, mum."

Selene nodded, her brain coming back online from the emotional shock. It's not every day you find out your nine-year-old daughter is actually a twenty-seven-year-old time traveller who has come back into the past to save your life. "When we've had time to adjust to this, Luna, you'll need to tell me everything you remember of that day, even the smallest thing might be the difference here. It won't be enough for me not to work on the appointed day, and then go out the next day and make whatever mistake it was that caused my death." The last word was said in a whisper. "But not now, not today. I promise you I won't do any charm work until we have that conversation. Does that ease your fears?"

For the first time since her mum had wakened her, Luna nodded and started to relax. "Thank you, mum, I love you and… "

"We know, dear, we know."

Another group hug and tears followed, but this wasn't the panic and hysteria of the last session; this was infused with love and support.

Later that evening, Luna sat at the kitchen table with her parents. After the last hug had broken up, no more had been said on the subject of time, past or present, depending on one's viewpoint.

"Who's Harry, dear?" Selene asked, taking the plunge. "Do you think he is in danger?"

"Who's Harry? Mum, books have been written trying to answer that question. Harry is Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, as he is known at this time. In my time, he has many more titles than that, but I don't need to go into that for the moment. Is he in danger?" Luna shrugged as she tried to phrase the answer. "Not life threatening, not at this moment. Is he happy? No. Is he abused? Emotionally almost constantly, physically sometimes, punches and kicks. Mostly just locked in a cupboard he thinks of as his bedroom, and by this age, he knows to keep quiet and out of the way. His cousin, who lives with him, bullies him as a way to relieve his boredom. There are house elves that live with pureblood supremacists who are treated better, but for all his faults Harry's uncle is not stupid and he knows Muggle social services would be all over him if he treated Harry as he truly wanted."

Xeno looked intently at Luna. "Are you telling me that a boy the majority of our world believes to be our saviour is living with Muggles who routinely abuse him?"

"That's the short version, yes. But that's what has made my Harry the person he is, or was, whatever the correct tense is. Harry's had a rubbish life and it's not going to change. He will face difficulties never before seen or believed that someone of his age can cope with, but cope he needs to. It's horrible to consider, but what if by helping him now it weakens his strength of character? If that were to happen, well, to sum up, if Harry falls, so does the world."

Selene watched Luna as she spoke about Harry. The strength of Luna's feelings for him was surprising when she said my Harry, but her considered words and finality on the subject reminded her of a general sending men off into a life and death situation. Selene was struck by the certainty that this was not a new thing for her daughter.

"You love him, don't you, Luna?" Selene's question took even her by surprise.

"Yes, mum, but not romantically. He was our leader, our light in the darkness. While Harry lived, the darkness would not win, and we would have died for him, although that idea would have horrified him."

"Yes, and that confirms my other thought. You've been a soldier. You have sent people to the front line as well, Luna."

Luna looked her mum in the eye. "How much do you want to know? I will share it all with you. It would help me to have someone to discuss this with, to help me figure out what I can change to prevent this, as I think you put it well. Messing around with causality could have consequences. You are more analytical than me, so what do you want to know, mum?"

Selene was again struck by the fact this was not a nine-year-old she was talking to. Looking at her daughter, you would see a little girl with scraggly blond hair, her feet not quite reaching the floor on these high back kitchen chairs, but the second you looked in her eyes, well, yesterday her daughter's pale eyes had been filled with wonder and love. Today the love was still there, in fact, it was more evident, but when conversations like these arose, there was a hardness and a challenge present that let you know this was no little girl.

"Tell me everything you want in as much detail as you want. You may only be five years younger than me, but I'm still your mum and it's my job to support my little girl with her problems."

Luna laughed at that. "Well, that sums up our relationship nicely, thank you, mum. Let me tell you of headlines of the world to come. Most of it is the Harry Potter story**, **or the Harry and Voldemort story."

So Luna told them of the world she'd lived in from the 1990's through to final battle. It started as events she had heard of, then ones she'd witnessed, finally ending with her eye witness account as she was drawn deeper into the group and the resistance to Voldemort's reign of terror. She told them of the Battle of Hogwarts and brought it to an end there.

"That's a lot to take in. Next time we do this, I'm taking notes. So Voldemort is still alive and Harry is the only one capable of ending it once and for all. I can see why you are cautious about doing anything that might weaken his toughness or resolve. But damn, it's horrible to think this way about a nine-year-old; let's leave him in his own personal hell because we need him strong to kill a dark lord later in life."

Selene was watching Luna as it happened: it was as if she was puppet whose strings had been cut. Luna collapsed onto the table, head in hands. Sobs wracked her frame. It was a close run thing, but Xeno got to his daughter first to hear her mutter between sobs, "Damn it, I've turned into Dumbledore."

Luna looked up. "I can't do it, mum, I can't look him in the eye and know I didn't try."

"What do you recommend, Luna? I remember your earlier comment about going in, wands blazing, and I think we can possibly manage something more discreet."

"I have plans running around my head. I still haven't completely ruled out kidnapping. The first is an anonymous phone call to Muggle social services from a little girl about how her friend in school is made to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Another would be for me to transfer in to Harry's Muggle school to befriend him and let him know early in life someone cares for him. Dad could run an exclusive on the Boy-Who-Lived-Like-a-House-Elf. Although that option is below kidnapping on the best way forward."

"All right," said, Selene "let's look at these logically. We call social services. Best case, what would happen?"

"Harry would be taken into care and placed with someone who loves him," answered Xeno.

"How likely is that?"

"Not very," Luna admitted. "Children of Harry's age, especially ones with facial scars, don't get adopted very often. More likely he would spend the next two years in a care home."

"All right, then, what are the worst case scenarios?"

Luna grimaced as if she'd sucked on something sour. "Harry had a theory about Dumbledore being a master manipulator, who treated Harry as a weapon to be forged. All the facts fit this theory; the alternative is that the leader of the light is so out of touch with the way the world works that he's more dangerous to his friends than the dark he opposes. Constantly seeing the good in people and giving them chance after chance."

"What has this to do with social services option?"

"Well, if Albus is the chess master, he would obliviate anyone trying to move Harry from his relatives and he may increase his watch on Harry, hampering anything else we try to change.

Now then, normal worst case that doesn't involve Albus the chess master. The Dursleys are investigated, but not enough evidence is found to convict. They then see this as acceptance of their treatment of Harry and the abuse gets worse."

"Is this likely?"

"Honestly, no, they would have put Harry on their watch list if they came in and found evidence of him sleeping under the stairs and just the physical differences between Harry and his cousin should be enough to get alarm bells ringing."

"Xeno, what do you think of this theory about Albus being a manipulator?" Selene asked, turning to her husband.

Xeno paused to consider it. "I can't dismiss it out of hand; the man is a politician, and you know what I think of all of them, Supreme Mugwump and Chief Warlock. He trades on influence, not power. If you told me he was after power himself, I would dismiss it. He's turned down the Minister of Magic role enough times, but would he break the law for what he believes is a noble cause? I'd say yes. Would he send people on suicide missions? I think so, I've seen some of the stuff Skeeter has on him, and although I refuse to publish it, I wouldn't dismiss it as all lies. One thing for certain, he is not whiter than white as some people portray him and he certainly isn't all knowing. Also, no matter what some people say, under his leadership we were losing the war last time."

Her father turned to her. "I think no matter what, Luna, you should leave him out of the loop. I agree he is more dangerous to his friends than his enemies. He fought one war and was losing another and neither he nor any of the forces he commands ever took a life, well, with the exception of Moody."

"What do you honestly think, Luna?"

"I think Harry may have let his hurt lead him to the wrong conclusion. I don't believe Albus is deliberately evil. But even so, I think he would interfere if he knew we were trying to take Harry away from his relatives."

"So if we follow this route, the likely result would either be Harry on the at risk register or in a care home. Are there any temporal consequences, Luna?" Selene asked.

"Nothing springs to mind. A slightly better life for Harry, maybe friends and a rise in his self esteem. He'll still be a fish out of water in the magical realm, so he should still make the same friends at Hogwarts."

"All right, then, let's think about you going to Muggle school. The first question is, can you pass as a nine-year-old Muggle?"

Luna paused to consider this. "The problem I see is most Muggles are obsessed with the television, so it would be my lack of knowledge of what was on last night that would be the main problem."

"So you don't consider the fact that you talk well beyond your years to be a problem, then, or your general lack of current affairs an issue, or dealing with traffic or all those hundred little things that Muggles know?"

"I was planning on creating a new persona of a formally homeschooled, very bookish child, offspring of a couple of hippies who don't buy into the modern way of life. As for the Muggle world, I'm as comfortable there as in the magical one. I had a brief relationship with a Muggle-born after Hogwarts, and we hid out in that world to both avoid Death Eaters during the war and immediately after avoid media attention."

Xeno squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. "Luna, dear, please do not tell me any details of any of your future relationships. I'm coping with the idea of you being older than you look, but all fathers think of their daughters as their little girls, no matter how old they are, but this situation just takes that to extremes."

Luna laughed. "So, you don't want to hear anything about my husband then?"

Selene joined in the laughter. "Don't tease him, dear. What do you hope to achieve by going to school with Harry?"

"To be a friend for him. He never had friends growing up; his cousin would drive off anyone who got close to him. Just to bring a little light to his otherwise bleak existence. I think a little bit of love earlier in his life will give him another reason to resist the darkness, not weaken him when it gets dark."

"All right, your motives are good, and on the positive side, it will give Harry a friend. So let's look at the downside.

You are putting yourself in to a situation that's going to invite bullying, first with this new persona, and secondly by befriending the most unpopular boy in school. Do you think you'll cope?"

Luna just rolled her eyes. "Mum, nine-year-old boys don't hit little girls. The worst I can expect is some name calling. We can be the loony and the freak."

"All right, then, the harder question: what will you tell Harry? Does he know about magic? And will you tell him about your future knowledge? What will all this do to causality?"

"I will make friends first. He knows nothing about magic. I will tell him I'm a witch and I never intend to lie to him. I will also reveal anything I think he needs to know ahead of time to stop his life being in danger. Mum, the more I think on this, the more I think going to school with Harry will be a good idea. We can magically change my birth certificate so I'm in the same year as him. At the very least, we can do this before we plan anything like phoning social services or kidnapping to see how he is, hopefully to ask him his opinion. Harry has a hatred of being manipulated, so if I can I'd like to ask him ahead of time before doing anything."

"All right, Luna, I can see you're not going to be dissuaded. Let you father and I see what we need to do to get a child into a Muggle school halfway through the year. But please be careful with yourself and with Harry, too. Remember your own words: he hates being manipulated."

It was a busy couple of weeks for the family. Muggles love their bureaucracy and even while the advantage of being able to conjure the documents may have sped up the process of getting Luna enrolled in St Peter Combined Infants and Junior Community School, even with magic it wasn't as quick as Luna wanted. However, the time was put to good use on other fronts. Luna took to spending time in the local muggle library getting information on what she would be expected to know and what she shouldn't know as a nine-year-old in 1990. Margaret Thatcher was still Prime Minister, the Cold War had warmed. Would she care as a nine-year-old? Apartheid still existed in South Africa. Dean's hero, Nelson Mandela, was still in prison but would be freed any day now. Kylie and Jason were making records and were in the gossip papers. The hard part was deciding what she should admit to knowing. She decided she would have to be quiet and bookish.

Life at the Rookery was settling into a comfortable routine. Selene was mostly treating her as a younger sister in private, and Xeno was still adjusting to her. It was challenging to have someone in the house who looked like your young daughter but had made greater discoveries than you in your chosen field.

A pensive was purchased and Selene had to be helped to bed with a calming draught after witnessing Luna's memory of her death. Xeno had wisely passed on that memory.

The next morning after, many tears were shed and hugs given; Selene told Luna from watching that memory she could tell what she had been working on, and had a very good idea of what had gone wrong.

Luna gained more promises of her mum that unless the arithmancy worked out a hundred percent, she would not begin experimental casting.

Finally, the Muggle bureaucrats had received all the pieces of paper they needed and shuffled them enough, although not enough to detect they were mostly magical forgeries and so it was that on a bright and cold February morning that Luna Lovegood stood in front of her new peers, hoping she would be able to pull this off.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

Chapter 3

Luna looked around the classroom. She tried not to laugh as Harry's comment of a pig in a wig came to mind: there he was, sitting in the centre of the back row, a smaller rat-faced boy sitting next to him. She watched as Pig spoke to Rat; Rat laughed quietly so as not to draw the attention of the teacher but enough to show he was a good sycophant. Objective one completed: don't look normal so that you, too, will be shunned by Dudley and his gang. Luna looked over at the girls in the class. The ones who thought of themselves as trendy wore touches of makeup and had their ears pierced, trying to look grown up and sophisticated; others still looked younger than they were.

Luna herself had settled on a flowery sundress with leggings and a long sleeved t-shirt underneath as an acceptance of the weather, which was still freezing. Her hair was left long and scraggily, not a look she would have chosen for herself, but it fitted her hippy daughter persona. Luna was just coming to the point where she could see her reflection without being surprised.

Finally, Luna looked at Harry sitting as far from Dudley and his gang as possible. He was skinny to the point of being malnourished. His glasses were cheap plastic and held together with sticky tape. His hair was sticking up at the back, but that went without saying. If you knew anything about Harry's appearance, you knew he had the scar, green eyes and always-messy hair.

Harry turned his vivid eyes on her; it was heartbreaking for Luna, who was so used to seeing acceptance and a smile on Harry's face, to see such caution and pain there instead. It had been a long time since Luna had seen that sort of wariness directed at her; oh well, this was one of the things she was here to fix. She gave Harry a quick smile and turned her attention back to Miss Green, who was now instructing Luna to sit with a girl in the front named Samantha, and telling Samantha to look after Luna until she settled in.

The first lesson of the day was Maths, which meant Luna could spend her time carrying the remainder, showing her workings and not having to worry about knowing more than she should. Morning break came along and while all Luna wanted to do was to watch and wait for a moment to get close to Harry, she was instead surrounded by a gaggle of girls who wanted to know her opinion on no end of pointless things.

Favourite band? Luna had spent some time thinking on this, looking up strange musical genres a girl with hippy parents might know but that she hoped no nine-year-old would admit to listening to. So she promptly answered, "Van der Graff Generator, although I am quite partial to Gong."

The sound of embarrassed silence was quite a familiar one to Luna from her previous childhood.

What was her opinion on the ongoing story line in _Neighbours_? That was an easy one. "My parents believe television is a form of mind control created by The Man to turn people into sheep, therefore, we don't have one in the house."

It was remarkably easy to put on the old persona. Although her bizarre statements were on different subjects than magical beasts, they still managed to drive off most of the curious.

In one last desperate attempt at finding mutual ground, she was asked if she had a favourite football team. She almost answered West Ham. "Bread and circuses, if people are fed and have entertainment, The Man can do whatever he wants. At least that's what daddy says, therefore, we don't watch any sports."

Soon Samantha found herself alone with Luna, and Luna was able ask about some of the others in her class. She started with the two boys at the back of the class who had spent the whole of the Maths lesson making jokes and sniggering.

So Luna found out about Dudley and Piers who, along with Malcolm, Gordon and Dennis, thought themselves kings of this castle. Dudley had recently won a fight against a boy in the year above, more because Dudley was so much bigger and heavier than him, than due to any skill on Dudley's part. This now meant Dudley considered his word law in the playground. Samantha added a "poor Harry," under her breath after she had finished telling Luna this.

Luna was just about to pick up on this, but the bell rang, signalling the start of lessons. The class dutifully wandered in, returning mostly to their previous seats. Although seating was not fixed, friendship groups all clustered together so a couple of girls had swapped seats, but nothing much had changed: Dudley's gang sat at the back and Harry still sat as far away as possible.

The morning's lesson was on Roman Britton, and talk turned to gladiatorial games. Luna decided not to correct the glaring inaccuracies and simplistic generalisations. The lesson was actually holding the attention of Dudley's gang, which was a major feat of teaching and meant that those sitting nearest to them actually learnt something for a change.

At dinner time, Luna was taken by Samantha to a table of other girls in her year. She watched as Harry just bought a piece of fruit from the canteen and sat at first by himself, although once the canteen filled up, he was joined by some boys from the lower years. The conversation at Luna's table was one about some new pop band, which she had neither interest in nor anything useful to contribute to.

By the time Luna got back on to the playground, Harry had made himself scarce, which was probably a good thing as Dudley and his gang were looking for victims to play gladiator games with them. Most of the boys who had dared to sit with Harry were picked to join in the game, and although no one was actually hit, the boys were pushed around and intimidated and they got the message: don't be nice to the freak, or else.

The afternoon lessons came around and gave no opportunity for Luna to speak with Harry. Before she knew it, it was the end of the first day and it was a frustrated Luna who headed home. As a zoologist, she had learnt patience in hunting down rare and unusual animals, but here she was getting frustrated after just one day. Selene could see the irritation on Luna's face as she walked in the door.

"Sometimes, mum, I wish I actually was nine so I could go sulk in my room. However, I'm slightly more than a big girl now so I'm just going to suck it up and try not to it take out on you."

Selene laughed at Luna's attempt to ease her own tension. "Looks like your dad's in for a rough night then."

"Daddy's home?" Luna ran off to find him with an excited step. Selene smiled to herself; in this one area, Luna almost acted like the child she physically resembled. Luna and Selene had talked over Luna's previous childhood with Selene gone and an ever more emotionally distant Xeno becoming unconnected from reality until his final fate. This had left Luna emotionally bereft, but now living with both her parents, she took every opportunity to share love with them.

While Selene had spent most of January battling bureaucracy and Luna sifting through things a nine-year-old Muggle should know, Xeno had been given another task. Under cover of searching for Snorkacks, he had passed through Amsterdam's magical district and had had a wand custom made. The Dutch authorities, like their Muggle counterparts, were more liberal than the British ones, and therefore Xeno was able to provide Luna with a wand free from any trace and unregistered with the British ministry. This wand had been made to the specifications of Luna's previous wand: nine inches, rowan wood, with a unicorn hair core.

Selene was startled by the silver light as Luna's patronus ran past her; unlike the first time she had seen it, when it was the size of a rabbit, this one was double life size.

Selene walked into Xeno's study, where Luna was hugging her father. "It certainly works, but I might just be happy to see dad again. I'll have to work through some spells to see how good a fit this is for me."

"So, Luna, have you given any thought to how you're going to carry a nine inch piece of wood around?" Selene asked with a laugh as she watched Luna put it behind her ear.

"I'm thinking some sort of garter and a hole in my pocket. I really don't intend to use it, but this is Harry we are talking about. I won't stand by and see him beaten."

"Do you think you could deal with his uncle if you witnessed something? He is a grown man."

"Bellatrix Lestrange, Alecto Carrow, possibly Walden MacNair, but he was wearing a mask, so I'm not certain about him."

"What?" asked Selene, slightly taken back by the non sequitur.

"Death Eaters I've duelled. I think I can handle one fat man if I need to. Hopefully it won't be necessary to go all D.A. on him." Luna looked up to see the shock on her parents' faces. "What?"

Xeno managed to ask, "You fought Lestrange?"

"Twice, although the first time it was more in desperation to get away rather than a fight. The second time was a fight that no one was going to back down from."

Xeno finally asked once his mouth started working again, "Are we ever going to get the full history off you or are you going just keeping dropping these verbal bombs every so often?"

"I don't know, dad. Answer me this: how would you react if I told you that one of your friends is going to die and we probably couldn't stop it?"

"Why couldn't we stop it? It better be for a better reason than conserving the timeline."

"Because people die in war. I've seen deaths that are both a pointless tragic waste and extreme heroics that turn the course of a battle, and they were one and the same thing. I've seen a young mother die; I've seen the broken body of an annoying little fifteen-year-old who, in death, became a hero. All pointless, all necessary to stop the world being overwhelmed. So, dad, when I get on the Hogwarts Express, do you want to know which other eleven year olds will die if I don't make changes to the timeline?"

Xeno paled as he thought on this, but Selene came to his rescue. "We've told you, Luna, that we will share as much of this burden as you're willed to trust us with. If I can watch the memory of me dying, I think I can face anything. You have already decided to change the timeline. I'm alive and intend to stay that way. I've given up working on that charm, you'll be pleased to know. I know that soon Harry will have a new friend. So we'll face up to events that might happen in seven years' time later. I think we need to keep our long-term plans loose."

Luna was secretly pleased that the plans had now become 'our plans' and no longer hers alone. "You're right, mum. I've already said I won't allow pointless deaths to occur; who knows how all these little changes will add up. Dad, what do we know about Dementors? Would The Quibbler be willing to do some pieces on those foul things?"

Xeno raised an amused eyebrow. "Do I detect a slight editorial bias there?"

"They fought on Voldemort's side in the last war, and we trust them to guard our prison because we don't know what else to do with them. Personally I'd be thrilled if you came across a way to kill them or at least to lock them up somewhere."

"More changes?"

"Let's hope so."

It was an upbeat Luna that approached school the next morning. The Lovegoods had rented a small office in Little Whinging; this had the double purpose of giving them a postal address for the school records and giving Luna a safe place to apparate into so she could then walk into school. She arrived early on the hopes she might have a chance to speak to Harry before Samantha took on her chaperone duties. This morning Luna was dressed in a short dress over a pair of loose fitting jeans. She had gone through several wardrobe styles before settling on one that she both liked and gave her access to the wand strapped to her thigh, thanks to a magically shrunken garter.

It was a quarter to nine when Luna witnessed the Dursleys pull up in a large executive saloon. Harry left the back as if he'd been shot out like a bullet from a gun. Luna heard Vernon bellow, "Be careful with the paint work, boy, and don't you dare slam the door."

Harry's reply was too quiet to be heard. Dudley lingered in the car with his father when a ringing noise could be heard. Vernon made a big display of answering his car phone. Dudley's gang stood around in slack-jawed amazement as Vernon handed Dudley the phone and Dudley put what he thought was a look of superiority on his face as he took over the call. In actual fact, it made him look constipated.

Luna rolled her eyes at the antics of the two Dursleys showing off and acting as they were making a call that the fate of the world depended on, rather than having Petunia tell little Duddykins how much she missed him. "What a pair of idiots," she muttered. She heard a little laugh and looked around to see Harry close enough to overhear her. He immediately shut down and went into guarded mode as soon as she looked at him, but he became more relaxed as Luna smiled at him.

It wasn't long, however, before the school bell rang and lessons began. Luna hadn't been able to go beyond that opening contact before Samantha had found her and helped her find her coat hook, hang up her bag and settle into her class. They went there long before the whole class moved down to the school hall to hear the headmaster, Mr Evans, lead assembly.

He talked about a Simon and Garfunkel song, how it was a negative pattern of behaviour and how they show not follow the guidelines as set out. Lines like "_I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving I disdain_" were self-destructive, and he hoped the children under his care would form friendships that would last them a lifetime. While Luna was all in favour of that sentiment, she did wonder about the wisdom of telling children about a strangely attractive idea and then telling them not to do it. She could tell from watching Harry's body language that this was something he was paying far too much attention to. Luna knew herself that it was a tremendously tempting idea for a child to lock themselves away from potential sources of pain. She had, after all, spent most of her childhood doing just that[,] until Harry had treated her with respect and friendship and given her the opportunity to come out from behind the wall she had built.

Luna's attention came back to what was going on around her. Everyone had their head bowed, eyes closed, and was chanting their way through prayer time. Not one in ten would be able to recall the words if asked individually, but in a group, everyone was word perfect.

On the way back from assembly, she witnessed Dudley bump into Harry and knock him into a wall. Her hands itched to pull out her wand and hex the boy, but pulling off twenty obliviations would be a bit awkward to manage.

Back in the classroom, it was time for R.E. As it was early in the season, they learnt about Easter. Luna was trying to decide if it was in character for her to ask why a Christian festival was named after an Anglo-Saxon Goddess, but she decided that she didn't want to antagonise the teachers. It was possible that they might be useful in helping with Harry's bullying problem if she decided to go down the official route.

When break time came around, Harry had taken the hint that Dudley had given earlier and gone into hiding. Luna excused herself from Samantha and wandered around the school playing fields watching different groups. Her eyes nearly popped from her head when she came across a group of seven-year-old girls playing with some strange form of mutant unicorn and pegasus figures but also happily waving wands in each other's faces. The fact that the wands had stars on the end and were covered in tinsel and glitter didn't stop the shock when Luna heard one girl cast abracadabra at one of her friends. Luna suddenly realised why some of the Muggle-borns in Hogwarts had taken a while to take the killing curse seriously.

Still, this might be an opportunity, so Luna sat down with the younger girls and, after some initial suspicion, was allowed to join in their games and even got to borrow a wand. Although no force on earth could get her to say the words abracadabra. Samantha was a caustic, asking Luna why she'd joined in with the little kids.

"Samantha, I'm an only child who until this week was homeschooled. I joined in the game because it looked like it might be fun to play and it was. It was certainly more fun than talking about television programmes I don't watch. Although what those purple unicorn things were, I didn't find out."

Samantha admitted the truth of that and explained "My Little Pony" to Luna.

Back in the classroom, they all returned to their usual seats. The lights dimmed and they were talked through a slide show demonstrating various aspects of physical geography.

Luna had spent the last ten years of her life as an explorer and a researcher finding proof of and documenting the behaviour of either rare or newly discovered magical species. Her career had developed, and she had taken on a side project from the Ministry of Magic. Because she had travelled all around the world and not all magical communities were as insular as the British Ministry, she had much more experience in the Muggle, or as she'd picked up the American habit of calling it, mundane world. So her second career was as a professional sceptic: a debunker of claims of sightings of magical beasts, which in her other role she was carefully documenting. She was authorised by the ICW to obliviate if necessary, but she preferred to use logic to explain to people why they couldn't possibly have seen what they had just seen. She turned up on talk show and news channels and had become the go to person whenever there was a new yeti, bigfoot or nessy sighting. She and Rolf had even rewritten his grandfather's book for the Muggle market: Fantasy Beasts and Why You Cannot Find Them. It had been well received and had done well in the Christmas market.

But however much time Luna had spent with Muggles and their technology, there was something about satellite photos that always took her breath away, and so she sat watching the slides with wonder in her eyes. All too soon, however, morning lessons were over and it was time for lunch. Luna had decided that today she would bring a packed lunch after yesterday where Harry had eaten an apple and disappeared while she was trapped at a table eating a full meal. So Luna sat outside the canteen with a small picnic, watching the doors like a hawk. It was only ten minutes after he entered that Harry left the canteen, eyes darting fervently around to see who, if anyone, was watching. He briefly made eye contact with Luna but didn't return her smile. He had all the characteristics of a small prey animal who knew a predator was about. Unfortunately for Harry, Luna was not the only one watching him. Piers had also left the canteen early.

"Oi, Potter, don't go hiding on us today. Big D wants to speak to you once he's finished eating."

"I'll have to check my diary and see if I'm free next week then."

Luna watched and slipped her hand onto her wand. While she smiled at Harry's little barb, she could see Piers was unimpressed. "You won't be making comments like that once Dudley has finished his talk with you. I doubt you'll be saying anything once he's done. You'll be eating hospital food with a straw once he's done with you."

Luna had her wand in her hand now; she quickly looked around and cast a quick confundus charm on Piers. As the spell struck she shouted, "What's that over there?" Piers turned around stupidly, staring where Luna was pointing. "Run," she mouthed at Harry. He didn't need telling twice and disappeared off around the corner of the canteen. When Dudley and his sycophants finally left the canteen, they found Piers still staring off into the distance and Harry nowhere to be found. As Dudley had to give up on hopes of Harry hunting for another day, he took his displeasure out on Piers.

This was manifested in the seating arrangements when classes started in the afternoon: Gordon took Piers's place next to Dudley, Malcolm and Dennis sat together, and Piers ended up sitting alone on a table.

At the front, Harry actually smiled at Luna when she caught his eye. The afternoon lessons drifted by without Luna paying much attention to them. The teacher asked her questions on two occasions when it became apparent she wasn't listening, but she easily answered both. The school day ended and Harry left the grounds quick enough to leave an afterimage while Dudley slowly dragged his huge bulk home. Luna was in a far better mood than she was yesterday after school and visited the local branch of Woolies on the High St. before heading to the office to apparate home.

"Hello, moonchild, what have you got there?"

"Hi, daddy. It's my new wand, do you like it?" Luna then brandished her new purchase. It was a ten-inch plastic wand with a large golden star at one end covered in glitter and tassels.

Xeno pretended to be upset. "Was the one I travelled all the way to Amsterdam not a good match then? And where did you purchase this thing?"

"On the High St."

"I can see Ollivander will be worried about the competition; this might even force him out of business," Selene laughed as she joined the rest of her family. "What are you planning, Luna? You must have bought that thing for a reason?"

"Well, mum, I came across a group of girls using these today and casting abracadabra at each other."

Both her parents paled at the idea of that children's game. "But I have a couple of ideas. The simplest is if people see me with this and get used to me waving it around, they might be less suspicious if they see me wave my real wand. The other thought, mum, I'll need your help for. What would the result be if I attached such ornaments to my wand as a form of camouflage?"

"I don't think it would affect the casting of spells, but I can't think of any way to attach those trinkets to your wand that would last the second you used magic. Have you ever put your hand on the end of a wand immediately after casting a spell?"

Luna didn't need to answer that question as she saw the point her mum was trying to make. Ideas from first year charms theory came back to mind. The problems of heat build up with magical discharge. "I see what you mean. It wouldn't be very inconspicuous if all the tinsel spontaneously combusted."

"Anyway," interjected Xeno, "I thought you only wanted the wand for emergencies, and that you only planned to use it as a last resort. So there should be no need for people to get used to seeing you with a wand."

Selene watched Luna with a mother's eye. "How many times today?"

Luna rather sheepishly told her parents of her day's adventures. But even they agreed no harm was done.

The next morning saw Luna in the schoolyard, her mother's words of caution still ringing in her ears as she watched the gates for the Dursleys' arrival. Again the car pulled up, and much show was made of using a car phone. Luna's heart sank, though, as she saw no sign of Harry, only the baby whale in the passenger seat. It was simultaneously with the ringing of the school bell that Harry ran into the playground, overly large clothes flapping and out of breath. Dudley pointed him out to his gang, who laughed at his flustered behaviour.

"Dad had to get the car cleaned yesterday to get the smell of freak out, so I wouldn't expect anymore rides into school." The rest of Dudley's gang laughed at this comment as if it was the highest wit they had ever heard. Luna just ground her teeth; for someone who had taken years of bullying herself with no outward sign of reaction, it surprised even her how quickly watching Harry tormented made her want to start hexing all and sundry.

Morning lessons passed without incident. Dudley knew that Harry was too good at hiding during morning break to put much effort into looking for him. But at dinner time he had to come out of hiding, since the school checked that everyone was eating even if they didn't check to see what they were eating.

So Luna watched as Dudley issued orders to his gang. As soon as Harry left the canteen, all of Dudley's gang, with the exception of Dudley himself, followed him out. Piers, who was the smallest of them and had to make up for yesterday, shadowed Harry's every move until Dudley sauntered out of the canteen.

Luna twitched on the horns of her dilemma as she watched. She wouldn't see Harry beaten, but this was a playground full of other pupils, dinner ladies, and there was even a teacher present, so she knew the gang would have to be restrained in their plans. Otherwise watching would be replaced with spell casting.

Harry had been brought before Dudley, who was telling him the rules of this new game. "We will let you go and I will count to ten before we try to catch you. When we catch you, well, let's just say that I'll enjoy it and you won't."

Luna smiled grimly. So it appeared they would spend their time making Harry miserable and harassed, but she hoped he would not actually be beaten. An effective bullying tactic: inspiring fear without having to actually to raise a hand. Her hand rested on the wand in her pocket and she wondered how many times she would cast the tripping jinx in what remained of dinner time.

She watched as Harry was released and Dudley's gang began their pursuit on the count of five. Dudley himself stood and watched, smiling to himself as he saw the look of panic cross Harry's face. To anyone watching in authority, it would look no different from any other game of chase. Piers followed straight after Harry, while Malcolm and Gordon moved to the left and Dennis to the right, hoping to cut off any chance of evasion.

Luna was looking around to see who, if anyone, was watching while slowly removing the wand from her pocket when she heard a telltale pop. She whipped around to see confusion on the faces of the boys who had, a moment before, been chasing Harry. Harry had gone. While they looked around, trying to work out where and how he had escaped, Luna decided to take more decisive action. She, unlike the boys, knew what apparition sounded like but guessed that Harry would only manage line of sight in a case of accidental magic like this. She decided to move up to the roof of the canteen where she would be able to get a good view of the surrounding playground and area. Luna moved to behind the canteen's waste bins so no one was looking at her and apparated up to the roof of the canteen. The first thing she saw was Harry curled up in a ball. Rushing over to him, she put a hand on him. "Harry, are you okay?"

He flinched away as she touched him. "It's not my fault. I didn't mean to do it. I just wanted to get away." Harry finally looked around to see who was touching him. "Luna? How are you up here? Do you know how I got up here?"

"Oh, Harry, lots of questions, and up here is not where I want to answer them. We need to get down before we are caught."

"Have you got a ladder? How will we get down?"

"We get down the same way we got up. Magic."

"Magic?"

"Yes, Harry, you're a wizard. Now let's move." And with that she took his arm and apparated off the roof.

**A.N.**

Lyrics from Paul Simon's "I am a Rock."

My junior school headmaster was also Mr Evans and he was a good man but I do wish he hadn't done that particular assembly at that time in my life.

Car phones where available in 1990 but would have been unusual enough that Dudley would want to boast to his friends.

Harry's fruit eating I think the Dursley's would provide him with Lunch money otherwise the school would notice him not eating, but I imagine Dudley getting more in a day than Harry gets for the week. This leads on to my thoughts about the abuse Harry suffers. I've read some fanfics where Harry is beaten to a pulp by Vernon, multiple broken bones and worse. I can't see much evidence for Vernon beating Harry in cannon. Dudley yes, even Petunia swings at him with a frying pan. Vernon bellows and shouts, manhandles him, locks him up, starves him but I don't see much evidence of beatings. Just because he isn't as bad as some fanfics make him doesn't mean he shouldn't be locked up for child cruelty.

Reposted after Jedi Goat removed the grammatical mistakes many thanks


	4. Chapter 4

4

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

Chapter 4

After the compression and expansion feelings ended, the first thing Luna heard was a scream. She had apparated them into their classroom only to find their teacher in there preparing work for the next lesson. It was her scream Luna heard. Thankfully Harry was holding onto her left arm, so she was able to pull her wand and cast a mild stupefy so their teacher slumped back into her chair. Luna walked over and cast a memory charm to remove the last minute of time. She then looked round to see Harry advancing on her fists clenched and a look of determination on his face.

"What did you do to her? You better not have hurt her."

"Harry I would never harm an innocent, or see an innocent hurt if I can help it. But explaining what's going on to you will be hard enough. I've mildly stunned her and removed her memory of us popping in here. Now she will awake in a minute and you have a choice, we can stay here and tell Miss Green we found her asleep at her desk, or we can pop elsewhere and I will answer any questions you want. Do you want to start now or wait?"

"Now please." Harry answered.

"Take my arm again" Luna offered her arm which he took.

Another bout of apparition later found them in the small office the Lovegood's had rented. It thankfully had some basic office furniture, so Luna and Harry settled themselves into over sized swivel chairs.

"Harry if you have a watch you best keep an eye on it, I can see us going over time quite easily here. So, any questions?"

Luna watched as Harry stared at her trying to formulate his thoughts. "You said I'm a wizard?"A quick nod from Luna. "That makes you a wizardess?"

"No I'm a witch" she admitted. Harry flinched slightly at the word.

"Don't worry, in my community it's not an insult just a statement of fact." She smiled to reassure him.

"So I'll be able to do magic?"

"Harry you just got onto the roof of a two storey building, how do you think you got there, the wind carried you? No you did magic, accidently and with no conscious control but magic. Here take this." Luna passed Harry her wand. Harry gingerly took it off her. She then corrected his grip and showed him a simple movement.

"Now then repeat the movement and say Lumos" she instructed.

Harry almost dropped the wand in amazement as the end lit up.

"Yes I'd say you're a wizard. Now say Nox"

It was with a look of disappointment that Harry passed the wand back.

"That was very impressive for a first time with a non matching wand."

"Non matching wand?" he answered a frown on his face.

"Wand selection is a very organic process there are very many types of wood, different lengths and different magical cores. A wand is as unique as the person who uses it."

"My relatives say magic isn't real. They won't even let Dudley watch Paul Daniels on the telly. They don't even let the word be used." Harry grimaced as he spoke of his relatives..

"I would say that they know about magic and are afraid of it. After all they must know your parents where magic users. They probably hope if they keep you ignorant of magic that you won't ever use it" Luna carefully phrased her answer so she neither lied to Harry nor let on how much she knew about him and his home life.

Harry had other thoughts on his mind. "My parents where magic users?"

"James and Lilly Potter were, I've been told, a fine upstanding couple. They met in magical school. Lilly was the first witch in her family, James from a family that had wizards dating back many centuries. Obviously I've never met them only heard about them." She watched Harry carefully as she turned all he knew of his life upside down. "Harry I know this is important to you but how are we doing for time?"

Harry blinked as he forced himself to look away from Luna. "It's a quarter to"

"Right in ten minutes we'll have to go back, so please bare that in mind. What is the most urgent question you have right now?"

"Do you, um, do you know how they died?"Harry asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, I do." Luna sighed this was a big one. "As the normal world is filled with people, some good, most just living normal lives, but some are bad. Well so is the magical world and before we were born there was a wizard who was as bad in the magical world as Hitler was in the non magical. He was an evil man who took a made up name and tried to take power. Some joined him, some cowered in fear and today are so scared of him they still won't say his name. Others however, defied him and fought against him. Your parents defied him and fought. One night however he came to their house, and just as you saw me stun Miss Green with a word, he killed your parents with a word. Then after he killed your parents he turned his wand on you. But that spell instead of killing you bounced off you and hit him, giving you that rather distinctive scar."

Luna watched Harry as she told the simple version of the tale of his parent's death. There were tears in his eyes as he looked at her "At least it wasn't something as stupid as a car crash." He was finally able to say "Thank you Luna, if there is anything I can ever do for you just ask."

"There is one thing you can do right now Harry, I can't emphasis this enough, the magical world has to be kept secret. That was why I had to remove Miss Green's memory. There is an absolute separation of the two communities. So now I'm going to pop us back to the school playground and if anyone sees us I'll have to remove their memory. I hate having to do that but it is the law."

Harry took Luna's arm and she apparated them back to the school playground. She'd picked the point next to the canteen, behind the large waste bins she'd originally used to apparate from onto the roof. Thankfully no one witnessed their appearance; Luna leaned against the wall suddenly tired. Harry went to her fearful; she looked on the brink of collapse. "Sorry Harry four apparitions in the space of an hour three of them double took a little bit out of me. How long till the bell rings?"

Harry checked his watch. "We still have a couple of minutes. Luna thank you very much for what you've told me today and I want to know more but I need to keep these talks secret, if Dudley found out, well he'd tease you but he'd really beat me up. He has a strict rule that I'm not allowed friends"

"Of course I'll keep this secret Harry, friends keep each other's secrets." Luna's dropped that one casually into conversation but watched with anticipation as she waited for Harry's response. His face was a mix of emotions but finally joy won out.

"Yes I guess friends do." He admitted with a smile.

Further conversation was interrupted by the bell calling them back to lessons. Dudley and his gang glared murderously at Harry when he reappeared and queued up to go back into school but in front of the whole school nothing could be done. Samantha took Luna by the arm and asked where she'd been. Luna gave a little shrug and a non committal answer and they soon found themselves back in the classroom where they went allowed to talk.

Miss Green seemed slightly distracted all afternoon and kept losing her train of thought especially when looking at Harry or Luna, which made Luna feel guilty but not enough to stop her smiling to herself, Harry had agreed they were friends. Luna looked up from her work to look at him as he concentrated on the comprehension exercise they where currently meant to be working on. She hoped they could talk again and was wondering if they would be able to apparate to the office every day, but knew that the more often they did it the more likely they were of being caught.

Still objective one of Operation Harry was completed. Make contact with Harry and thankfully it had been done without anyone being aware of it, so she had no need to worry about the Dursley's for now.

She hoped the little information she had given him so far would help to ease some off the lies she knew he'd been told growing up. The only cloud was that while she would be going home, Harry would be returning to his prison. That event came quite soon as the bell ended to signal the end of the school day and Harry made his usual lightning quick exit. Luna made her usual two stage journey home, first to the office then apparating home to The Rookery.

"I'm home" Luna's shout sounded over the house.

"and in a better mood than Monday" added her Mum. "So what's got you so happy?"

"I spent lunch time with Harry. I got to tell him the truth about his parents not the lies he was brought up with. It was heart breaking to think all he knew was the lies he'd been told by the Dursley's."

"So how did this happen? I thought you were going to be cautious." Selene asked.

"He did accidental magic, apparated himself on to the roof of the school canteen and I followed him up and rescued him"

"You double apparated? Luna you're going to have to be more careful than that. I know you think you're still twenty seven but you are a nine year old you will exhaust yourself doing things like that."

Luna winced in anticipation of what her mum would say to the next confession. "I did kind of collapse after my third double apparition in under an hour."

Selene's face gave no emotion away on that confession. "Alright Luna full story what else have you been up to today"

So Luna explained her day to her mum, for once not leaving out any details of the magic she had cast. At the end of it Selene slumped back in her chair.

"It's not possible" she muttered under her breath. "Luna what you have told me is impossible under current theories of magic. There is a reason first year spells are taught when they are and it's all eleven year olds should be able to master. You have either retained all your magical strength as well as your memories or something is going on I don't understand, but one thing I do know that there is no way you could have done all that and just felt a bit wobbly. By everything I thought I knew you should be in a coma, brought about by magical exhaustion."

"Sorry mum. I did stop using magic the moment I found myself pushing close to my limits, but it was one of those situations where once I'd made that first decision to rescue Harry then everything else just followed on from that."

"Luna I think I'll have to make some discreet enquiries for a healer who can give you a physical and keep secrets, but that is for the future, now then how did Harry take it when he found out about magic?"

So Luna did her second recount of her day this time focusing on what she had told Harry and how he had taken it. "Mum I know you went exactly close to the Potters but do you have any photos of them? Can you imagine growing up and never knowing what your parents look like?"

"I'll have to look through my Hogwarts photos; they may be in some group shots. There was one group photo of my special project charms group I think Lilly at least will be in that one she was in her owls' year as I was doing my newts. But your father is the one to ask he keeps all the old issues of his magazine I can think of at least one front page issue that will have their photo, though whether to show it to Harry will be another matter."

The next morning found Luna carrying a heavier bag than usual to school. The morning dragged for her. The only thing she could think of was getting Harry somewhere she could talk to him. When lunchtime finally arrived Luna banged into Harry as the class filed out, handing him a packet as she did so. "Sandwiches" she whispered to him before heading off to the playground.

Harry moved to another part where he would be seen eating by the dinner ladies on duty that lunchtime. Once they had both finished eating Luna made eye contact with Harry and made minute gestures to Harry to move behind the canteen. Once they were both there Luna told Harry to take her arm again.

Following what was becoming the now familiar feel of apparition they looked around the office. Yesterday it had drab utilitarian office furniture, today the desk and swivel chairs where gone, replacing them was a sofa and pair of chairs.

"I thought this might be more comfortable than those things we sat on yesterday" Luna gestured round the room.

Harry sat down his eyes wide, he was being very cautious so as not to rumple or touch the chair with his feet. Luna came to the realisation that this was probably the first time Harry had been asked to sit in decent furniture.

"I don't want to panic you Harry but I asked my mum to join us." Luna glanced at the wall clock that now graced one wall. "In fact she should be here any minute"

Harry nodded his nervousness increased. Luna slumped down in the chair opposite him. She turned in it so her feet were over one arm rest and her back on another. She was purposely treating the furniture badly in the hope this might cause Harry to relax but saw it was having little effect.

"Relax Harry these are still the office chairs we sat in yesterday. I transfigured them this morning no need to treat them as fragile things"

On these words Harry did start to relax, when a loud pop filled the room and Selene Lovegood apparated into the room. Luna who was prepared for it and had witnessed apparition before jumped back slightly, Harry caused his chair to rock back he jumped so violently away from the sudden appearance of another person in front of him.

"Sorry for startling you. I'm Luna's mum you can call me either Selene or Mrs Lovegood whatever you are most comfortable with." Selene smiled at Harry to try to reassure him.

Harry and Selene took in each other's appearances. Selene looked like an older version of Luna, blond hair, grey eyes, and faint eyebrows; today she was dressed in a muted green robe and had some silver moon earrings. Harry was dressed in clothes that had to be at least three times too big for him, his shoes were visibly falling apart but Selene was drawn to his vivid green eyes and found herself staring searching his forehead for the scar.

"I'm sorry Harry that was very rude of me. Luna asked me here today because I actually met your parents although I should add I wasn't a close friend of them."

This wasn't strictly true, Luna had wanted mum here so that she wouldn't appear all knowing, also if something they told Harry brought him to tears Luna would have felt uneasy comforting him. If she had her twenty seven year old body that would have been one thing, if she was really nine that would have been another but as she was something felt very wrong about the idea of giving Harry a hug.

"So Harry" Luna started "how do you feel about all I told you yesterday?"

Harry looked down his eyes started to moisten. "All my life I've dreamed that someone, my mum or dad or maybe some relation would come and take me away from where I live, but yesterday you kinda took that away, but I don't know I feel better. Just knowing that they died for something, it's bad they're dead but." He looked up and Selene was startled to see the icy determination in his eyes, Luna knew that look from her old life. "Look, my uncle told me my dad was a drunken waste of space, who never worked a day in his life. According to him my dad was driving drunk and hit a wagon killing him and my mum, giving me this ugly scar. So anything is better than that. So yeah its bad, but this bad is better than the lies I've been told."

Although Selene had been warned by Luna what to expect she still felt shock that anyone would treat a child this way, while Selene tried get herself under control Luna moved the conversation on. "Harry we spent some time yesterday looking through mums old school photos and we have found some your parents are in."

Harry's eyes lit up with an intensity and his hands began to shake with anticipation and excitement as he watched Luna start to reach into her bag and file through various photos. I'll let mum talk you through them."

Selene motioned for Harry to join her on the sofa. "Ok first one here is a group shot of an extra credit charms group I was in. This is during my seventh year. Front row, second in is your mum Lily Evans, very smart girl as I remember." Selene stopped talking as she realised that Harry's entire focus was on the photo. The magical photo of his mum flicked her hair over her ear and smiled at the camera.

Giving Harry a moment to drink in his mum's appearance the Lovegood women shared a look across the room. Selene now understood Luna determination to help Harry, just being in this room and feeling the need pour off him was heartbreaking. The tear flowed down his cheeks as he took in his mums appearance.

"She keeps smiling at me."

"Wizarding photos move." Explained Selene. "They capture a moment in time."

Harry nodded as if he understood but Luna could tell he was not really listening.

Luna handed her mum the next photo. Selene gently placed the new one over the one he was staring at.

"This one Harry was taken at a school quiddich game, this would be his fourth year your dad was a great chaser for his house team, he's this figure here" Selene pointed out James to Harry, who was torn between the desire to stare and laugh "He's flying a broomstick"

"Yes we really do fly broomsticks it's not the best picture, but the only one I took of your dad. I do have one of the two of them together Harry, but I need to warn you before we show it to you. This photo is from the newspaper that reported their death. It would be best if you didn't read the print."

Selene gingerly handed over the newspaper, it had been folded carefully. So none of the print columns where able to be read. The item that dominated the paper was a family photo. James with Lily holding an infant Harry wrapped in a blanket. As the photo moved Harry wriggled a bit and James tucked in an end of the blanket that came loose. The lines around his parents' eyes deepened as they smiled at each other.

"This would have been the photo given to the society pages after you were born; I guess you would have been a month old in this photo." Selene was about to say something else when it became apparent that nothing would take Harry's attention away from the photo.

Harry's fingers carefully traced the outlines of his parents. "They loved me, they really loved me" it was a litany a little whispered chant from Harry as the tears which had started when he had seen the first photo now burst the flood gates and poured unchecked. Selene moved closer to Harry now and put an arm over his shoulder. He initially flinched and tensed himself as if waiting for a blow, but when it became apparent that all Selene was doing was offering comfort he collapsed into her, tears flowing still repeating "they loved me."

Luna watched them and also the clock it was getting close to the time when they should head back to school but it was obvious that Harry was still in no fit state to do so. She coughed slightly to get her mums attention and mouthed "do you have it?"

Selene responded with a nod. "Harry we're going to do some rather unusual magic here."

Harry just looked up with tear soaked eyes his glasses had been removed earlier and where clutched in one hand.

"It won't hurt and all you need to do is put this chain round your head, but Luna and I need to join you in it."

Harry nodded and soon Luna joined him in hugging Selene. "Three turns should be enough" Luna suggested. "Any more and we'll bump into me this morning."

Selene took the hour glass of the time turner and rotated it three times. The room shimmered around them but otherwise nothing appeared to happen. Luna glanced up at the clock it now read ten to ten.

"We'll have to leave here before quarter past twelve, that's when Harry and I arrived."

Harry now started to look around at Luna and the room wiping his eyes and starting to get himself under control again. "Don't worry Harry that necklace has just moved us back in time, three hours. I didn't think you'd want to see Dudley again until you calmed down a bit."

"Magic can move you back in time?" he asked in amazement.

As the two women nodded at him he continued to talk more and more excitedly. "That's great fantastic so if I can get one of theses or borrow one, can I borrow this one I'll get it back to you and..."

"Harry they only go back six hours maximum." Luna knew this was going to hurt him to just blurt it out, but felt this was one of those occasions where it would be better to dash his hopes before they built too high.

Harry deflated slightly and Selene moved into him again. "Everyone who has heard of these thinks the same thing Harry, it's only natural. "

Harry's only answer was to sigh and nod.

"So" said Luna, "you've had twenty four hours to think about it and we now have plenty of time, any questions?"

"I don't know where to start. My parents met in wizard school you said? "

Selene answered "Yes it is called Hogwarts they where 2 years younger than me, they would have both started in seventy-one."

"How do you start and why isn't Luna there?"

"Hogwarts is a secondary school so you don't start until you are eleven; it is illegal for anyone to do magic under that age or to even own a wand. It is even illegal for children under the age of seventeen to perform magic out of school" Selene was doing her best to answer Harry's question seriously but wasn't helped by Luna who had her wand lit up with a lumos spell and was repeatedly writing letters in the air spelling out "I'm bad"

"Some little girl is going to get her illegal foreign bought wand taken off her if she's not careful" muttered Selene while trying not to laugh.

"You keep saying illegal, do wizards have police?" harry frowned as he asked.

"Yes there are. We have our own separate society, with a ministry to make laws and our own police called Aurors to enforce them. The wizarding world runs a parallel course to muggle society. Anyway, back to Hogwarts. You will normally receive a letter in the summer of your eleventh year. You might get a personal visit, muggle-born children do, you might slip through being wizard-born but muggle-raised"

Harry seemed to consider this and asked his next question. "How much can you do with magic? I've read story books in school about evil witches turning people into frogs and then thought them stories then you show me a photo of my dad flying a broomstick."

Luna listened to her mum go into an extensive question and answer session about magical theory in one sense Harry was just like a toddler asking why after every new fact pushing Selene to find explanations for things Luna took for granted. While Luna could have come up with some of the answers she would never have got Harry to believe she was just a normal child after that. That was one thing that still nagged at Luna how much to tell Harry about herself. She would have to tell him at some point so when she gave him warnings he would take them seriously and she knew that old Harry had believed Dumbledore to be guilty of manipulating him and his life. Luna hoped to avoid this same fate but knew she was pushing the boundaries of this.

Luna tuned back into the conversation of Harry and her mother. Harry had a fascination with what he would learn and unfortunately Luna had not been the best example of that.

"So I can't learn to apparate until I'm seventeen? But I've already done it, and Luna does it all the time."

He complained.

"Speaking of apparating we had best leave here before the other us arrive here" Luna glanced up at the clock. While they still had plenty of time she thought a visit to a magical home might distract him from wanting to know how she was able to perform magic that he wouldn't be taught till he was seventeen.

"Will it be safe to go home mum, without meeting you?"

"Yes it will be fine I was out early this morning picking up the turner" answered Selene.

"Harry would you like to come to our house for an hour?" Luna asked him.

"That would be great I've never gone to a friend's house before. Why do you keep saying we have to go before we leave? It doesn't make sense."

"We've moved back in time and therefore it's possible to meet yourself, but that's generally regarded as bad. One of the worst things with time travel is trying to explain things to people. I mean what sane person says things like we'd best go before we get here. But we best had." Luna explained with a smile.

Selene stood and motioned for Harry to take her arm, Luna also stood. "Front gate mum?"

"Yes that'll do"

Luna watched her mum and Harry disapparite and then followed leaving the office empty.

Luna took a second to gather herself and turning to Harry "Welcome to The Rookery.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

**Chapter 5**

Luna tried to find the right note of explaining her house to Harry, she knew that from a muggle world view it certainly wasn't normal. Not many people live in round towers anymore, she decided she would treat it as normal and let Harry take the lead in asked questions, although thing's like her mums bomb proof work space and the sheds containing her dads printing press did need pointing out. But while Harry did stare around in wide wonder he just seemed to be enjoying visiting a friendly place.

"Would you like to visit here on the weekend Harry, I'd have more time to explain the differences of wizard to mundane world? Besides it would be fun to see you" Luna asked casually but held her breath as she waited for his answer.

"I'd like that, but I don't know how long I come over for my aunt and uncle keep me pretty busy on chores"

"Oh do you and Dudley do chores to earn your pocket money?" Luna had a hard time believing she had the audacity to ask that question, but she needed a way to ask Harry about his home life, she still had the idea of reporting the Dursley's to social services.

Harry laughed in response "Dudley work? I'm amazed he can even pick up a pen in class. No I do all the chores and he either sits and watches telly or goes out with his gang"

Luna motioned for Selene to come within listening distance as she asked questions she already knew the answers to. With probing and interjecting she got Harry to tell of the work he did at the Dursley's, the fact he never had anything new, and eventually his sleeping arrangements.

Finally Luna came to the decisive question if Harry answered yes to this one Social services would be contacted within an hour. "What happens if you don't work hard enough? Does your uncle hit you?"

"No he's never really hit me. He just gets mad and locks me in my room, if he's really mad he makes me skip meals, my aunt makes a thing of hitting me but never really makes contact. She does it as a way to get me moving or working harder if I stay still she'll swing but I always duck that. Dudley and his gang are the ones who hit me, but they bully everyone who gets in their way." Harry told them in a dull kind of voice as if he was describing normal routine not what most would class as child cruelty.

Luna nodded at Selene the next question would be better coming off an adult.

Selene got down on her knees so she could make eye contact with him "Harry what they are doing isn't right, after all you've told me I'm inclined to get some social workers involved, what do you want us to do Harry?"

The question hung in the air this to Luna was a pivotal moment how big where her changes going to be?

"What would happen to me if social workers came to the Dursley's?" he asked his voice quiet and his eyes downcast.

Selene grimaced slightly "I won't lie to you Harry, but I can only guess not give absolute answers. I would guess you would be taken from the Dursley's and either placed with a foster family or in a care home, depending on how the investigation with the Dursley's went. You would, I imagine be put up for adoption. I'd love to promise you a happy ending, I also have to tell you no matter how much I'd want to we wouldn't be able to adopt you. The Lovegood family would never stand up to the sort of scrutiny that social services puts potential adopters under."

"If you told me I'd end up with a family who at least cared for me I'd say yes, but I might end somewhere worse. I'd hate to end up in a care home alone." He answered.

"Harry you are always welcome here, if you are ever not fed, we will feed you. If you are ever short of time to get away we can give you an extra six hours, but know this, you are cared for. The Lovegood's will do what they can for you."

Luna was so proud of her mum, although they had talked over options together this declaration of Selene's to Harry was exactly what he needed to lift him at this moment.

"Really?" Harry lifted his head to meet eyes with Selene.

Selene just opened her arms to him to offer a hug. Luna watched in amazement as Harry accepted the hug from her mum. It had taken years in her time line for Harry to get used to physical contact; mind you his first maternal influence was Molly who never offered hugs just gave them whether they were wanted them or not. Although having spent the last hour crying on Selene had probably reduced his barriers a little.

The rest of the time was more relaxed and soon laughter returned to the conversation. All too soon however Luna who had been watching the time decided they would have to head back to school. They apparated to the point they had come from, behind the canteen.

The rest of the day was the usual lessons and when the school day ended, Luna made her two-stage journey home.

Selene was sitting waiting for Luna when she got into the kitchen a mug of tea on the table for her.

"Well Luna will we honour his request? He is only nine it's a big decision we handed him."

"I think we do, while Harry's situation is far from ideal, its neglect he suffers from more than anything. Mum can I just say I was gobsmacked when Harry willingly accepted your hug. It took years for Harry to get used to physical contact in my time, I was never more proud of you when you said we'd always be there for him. "

"I meant it Luna, I know what you told me of his destiny but just meeting him and feeling his need overrode all of that. He is just a nine year old who needs someone to care for him and to know he's cared for. I hope we can help him live a double life with visits here, to let him know he has value beyond that of a servant. I really wish we could bring him to live here." Selene admitted wistfully.

"Still I wish dad was a bit more imposing I'd love to send someone round to the Dursley's to put a bit of fear into them. Harry told me when he got his Hogwarts letter addressed to the 'cupboard under the stairs' they moved him into the spare room, in fear they were being watched."

"That gives us something to work with; let me think on that for a while. So how did you rate today as part of your plan to make life better for Harry?"

"I still have the overwhelming fear of what he will do when I tell him the truth of my age and the future. I don't want to manipulate him but what do I do?" Luna admitted. Harry rejected her was one of her biggest fears.

"Tell him. I think you should tell him this weekend, he's still new to magic so will take it more in his stride than later, it's also early enough after meeting him that he shouldn't blame you for withholding information from him. After all you've only been in school four days, the big question is how much do you tell him?"

"I think I tell him that Voldemort never died and he will keep trying to come back fully to life and that if he does come back Harry will be dragged into the conflict. I will refuse to tell him who he marries or anything like that." Luna chewed on her hair as she answered.

"Who did he marry?" the curiosity was clear to here in Selene's voice.

"Ginny Weasley, but I don't know what will happen this time. Ginny as she is now has had Boy-Who-Lived stories told to her most of her life. In my timeline, Voldemort possessed her in her first year and Harry rescued her. While it didn't stop her crush it did make her see Harry's life for what it was and not some heroic dream. She tried to transform herself from a stalker into someone worthy of him. She joined him in battle and failed, but we all did. They dated briefly but Harry broke it off to fight while she went back to school. It was then she became his match, in a school run by Death Eaters, she became one of the leaders of the resistance making decisions that would result in friends being subject to torture or worse if mistakes were made. It was there she found her own saving people thing. There she became worthy of him. It wasn't a perfect marriage, Harry left to himself would have been a recluse. Ginny enjoyed celebrity. They pulled in different directions Harry would never think of using his fame, Ginny made him use it to better himself and others.

However, I don't intend to let her get possessed, I hope to stop Harry from falling into the trap of rescuing…."

Luna faltered slightly "Note to self, clear Sirius. Yes anyway, I don't intend to fall for that ambush, and to stop the conditions that allow Hogwarts to be taken over by Death Eaters, so that might stop Ginny from growing out of her stalker phase."

Selene smiled at this. "Well I won't have to ask what your plans are for life you've just told me most of them."

"It's this weekend that worries me at the moment." Luna glanced down and took a sip of tea to cover her nervousness.

o0o

Saturday afternoon found Luna wandering aimlessly around a play park in Little Whinging, Harry had agreed to meet her after lunch but wasn't able to give an exact time. So Luna wandered around trying to keep warm, the wind chill reminding her that February was still a winter month and spring felt a long way off. She also wandered with nervous energy, running different scenarios round her head. Luna was not normally a worrier but all the ways today could go badly ran round her head. It all boiled down to how would Harry react to her news.

Before she could worry herself into too deep a mood Harry came running down the road, baggy clothes flapping as he moved.

"Hi Luna, I should be ok to spend the afternoon if that's ok? Petunia told me to get out as I was making the place untidy" the smile on his face could be seen as he told her.

Luna's emotions were at war within her she was glad Harry came and thrilled there would be no rush, angered that Petunia treated Harry that way and the worry still hadn't abated. Some of this most have made its way onto her face. as Harry's smile faded and he started to back pedal

"That's if you still want me to visit."

Luna reminded herself that Harry's insecurities where never far from the surface as an adolescent as a child he was even more so. "Of course I want you to visit Harry, I'm just a little nervous about today. So take my arm and off we'll pop."

After the familiar feelings of apparition faded, Luna led Harry into her house. Selene was pottering about in the kitchen and greeted Harry warmly, making contact with him but not forcing a hug on him. Luna led Harry up stairs to the living room. Xeno was working away at a desk on the far side of the room.

"Hello Luna and you must be Harry, welcome to the Lovegood home and know that you are welcome here whenever you want." Xeno sprung out of his seat and bounded out of his seat like an overeager puppy, his candy floss hair bouncing behind him. He stuck out his hand as a greeting which Harry gingerly took. After they had shaken hands Xeno turned to Luna "I'm sorry dear but it's freezing out in the sheds, its days like today that makes me wish your mum would reconsider and let me move the press up here. I know you want to have a chat with Harry so I think you'll have to use your bedroom."

Luna rolled her eyes "Dad you are the only man I know who'd send me off to my bedroom with a boy on first meeting him. I hope you're like this when I'm older and bring a boyfriend home"

Luna dragged a blushing Harry away from a flustered Xeno and headed upstairs.

"I'm sorry Harry but I just can't resist the opportunity to tease him."

Luna looked over at the boy obviously still embarrassed; he properly hadn't even begun to think about girls that way. Luna led Harry into her room, it was very obviously a girl's room decorated in soft shades with touches of pink, but also splashes of bright colour where Luna had begun to add hand painted details.

"Where do you want to sit bed or chair?" she asked.

Harry settled himself on the chair and Luna sat opposite him on her bed and fidgeted nervously. "Harry I can't think of an easy way to tell you this. I'm so scared you will be angry with me." Luna swallowed and plunged in. "You've seen the time turner, well that is not the only way although it is the only controlled way to move in time. I have moved back in time due to a wild magical occurrence. I was twenty seven one moment but am now nine."

Harry just stared at her wide-eyed. His expression was unreadable.

"That is why I have a wand and can do magic like apparating us around the countryside."

"So what's it like in the future?"

Luna shrugged "Magical world is pretty much unchanged, but you've not experienced much of that yet. The mundane world has had interesting changes in technology; the threat of a world war will be gone for good to be replaced by new wars. People are people and don't really change much, but individuals change. In that time I lived Harry we became friends, when you where fifteen and I was fourteen so I know a lot about you and one possible future."

"What do you mean possible future?"

"I'm altering things. I hope for the better, you never learned of magic until you got your Hogwarts letter but you do now, two years early. I hope we can be friends but this might be awkward, now you know this. I know things about you that another you has already told me, as one of your friends but not your closest I have an idea how you react to things. I know you hate manipulation which is why I'm telling you this now rather than if you find out in the future." Luna looked down as she spoke wringing her hands in worry.

Harry's face had closed down when she had said she knew things he'd already told her.

"Why me, you must have other friends why am I the only one you've searched out?"

"Honestly none of my friends have perfect lives but I was worried about you most. Although you never said I was worried that your uncle might be hitting you, it's not right what he is doing but I wanted to talk with you and find out"

"So you don't know everything then?"

"Not by a long shot. I remember lots from my life but I've made big changes there already. My mum died in an accident in a couple of months time, when she made a mistake while working on something. That won't happen this time both my mum and I are determined not to let that piece of history happen.

I only know what I've seen or had told me or was interested in enough to remember. I was shocked when I came back that Mandela was still in prison."

"He's out tomorrow; I heard it on the radio this morning. Vernon was calling him a terrorist among other things"

"I didn't know that. It was only years in my future reading about Africa I heard of him, then when I came back I looked him up to find him still in prison. I knew he would be let out but couldn't remember if it was this year or the next. That's how I'll be with world events when things happen I'll be as surprised as the next person."

"But I was in school with you so will know lots about things that may happen, but I never want to force you and some things I will refuse to tell you, but I will never lie that I promise Harry."

"Why won't you tell me things are you just going to sit and watch while I make mistakes?" Luna could hear some anger start to enter Harry's voice.

"That's not what I meant. Let me try to give you an example. I never turned up on Monday and said we will become good friends in the future. I waited for a natural chance to meet because friendships have to happen organically. If I tell you the names of your best friends in years to come you might act over familiar with them and put them off. It's finding the right balance. However, there will be things that can get you into major trouble if I don't tell you. I'll tell you now, if you try to take the baby dragon up on to the astronomy tower you will get caught and end up in detention."

"I think I understand."

"Ask me something Harry and I'll tell you or at least try to explain why I won't tell you."

"Was I happy last time you saw me?"

Luna thought back to their last meeting Harry had handed over a wrapped new born calling Lily Luna. His eyes shone with pride and joy. Luna swallowed slightly if things changed as she expected her little goddaughter would never be. "Yes Harry you wouldn't believe how happy you were. I hope you will be as happy but I hope to make it an easier path"

"So if we end up happy why change anything" he asked.

"Harry if I was just changing things to make you happy I would leave it alone, but I've changed things so I hope my mum doesn't die, but she isn't the only person who dies in tragic and I hope avoidable circumstances. I can't stand by and let people be hurt if I can help it" Luna was trying to keep herself under control knowing how Harry reacted to conflict but couldn't help but let the passion flow as she made this declaration.

"Ok I believe you. Now what"

That was so typically Harry once he accepted you that was that for him, that was why his best friend was his first friend and no matter how many time Ron failed Harry, Harry had never failed Ron.

"Now I show you around my home with a bit of time to spare and show you some magic that you might be able to master"

The rest of the afternoon was more relaxed and fun filled, Luna showed Harry how things worked in a magical household. Magic took the place of electricity so there was no need of fridges or washing machines. Witches had inventing labour saving centuries before their muggle counterparts.

Harry was fascinated by the idea of many things he slaved over being done with just a word and a movement. He loved being able to perform the simple charms Luna showed him although his results were patchy due to age and an ill fitting wand. The day ended too quickly for them and soon Luna had to apparate Harry back to the park although in this case next to a group of trees behind it.

The weeks passed, Luna took Harry home most lunchtimes, sometimes there was too much scrutiny around in school so they had to spend the whole day there. Harry was able to get away to the rookery at least once every weekend although sometimes the time turner had to be used as he was only nipping out to the shop for five minutes and so under Luna, Selene and Xeno's eyes Harry became less introverted and more sure of himself. Luna's future knowledge was not mentioned although Harry asked if she knew who won the world cup. Her response of looking blankly at him and pointing out the Quiddich world cup wasn't this year told Harry all he needed on that subject.

The Easter holidays had given them more time than usual to spend together Luna was rather thankful that Harry was not really into playing games and just enjoyed being with people who treated him as a person and not as either a slave or a burden. They even managed with the use of some simple glamor charms to take Harry to Diagon Ally without anyone noticing the celebrity in their midst. He was of course overawed by all the new sights in the Wizarding world's largest shopping area.

Spring past without incident, although Luna was waspish with Harry on one day, she apologised profusely the next explaining that was the date her mum had died in the old timeline, and she had been worried sick all day. Harry forgave her and things progressed. Luna enjoyed living the world with Harry's joy of discovering new things. It revitalised her and helped to heal hurts she had been carrying around since her first life, when she had decided to shut the world away.

One Saturday found Luna waiting for Harry in their usual meeting place when she saw him approaching. "Hi Harry, I'm afraid we'll have to use the turner a bit today mum has finally found a healer she trusts to check me over so that'll take up some time, unless you're just happy to spend time with dad while the healer asks awkward questions like age." She joked.

"I don't mind your dad is fun to be with, I think I can almost run the press now, he told me it's just a matter of judging what size mallet to hit it with when it plays up and once I've got that I'll have mastered it."

Luna had been pleased with the way her whole family had taken to Harry; her mum had offered unconditional love from the first meeting. Xeno and Harry had stalled for awhile, it had taken Harry's self esteem to grow before Luna felt comfortable leaving the two alone together, Xeno's relationships where based around gentle teasing and once Harry had learnt not to take his comments seriously they had developed a good mentoring relationship. Xeno loved tinkering with his press and Harry was not afraid of either hard work or getting dirty, and once he found that he was praised for good work and gently corrected for mistakes he discovered he enjoyed working with the man.

Luna led Harry to the shed her dad used as his offices and workspace. When they got in the presses where strangely silent but Xeno's desk looked like an explosion in a library. "Ah Harry welcome, I believe Luna intends to inflict you with my poor company while she gets a physical. I afraid that today the presses are silent; this is the other part of my job finding something to write in them. Sit down my boy and I'll teach you how you read."

Harry rather indigently answered "I can read"

"An excellent starting point. Now I'll show you how to. Do you believe everything people tell you?"

Harry paused while he thought about that, all the lies his uncle had told, never mind his hang them, flog them, political leanings as he shouted at the news bulletins. "No some people, tell you stuff that might be wrong just to make themselves seem better"

"Excellent answer Harry, people are biased everyone believes in something. Some things are facts, for example, things fall"

Xeno dropped a pencil and watched it fall to the ground. "Sometimes though circumstances change"

Xeno dropped another pencil and swished and flicked his wand at it. This time the pencil fell halfway down before floating gentle back up. "However the hardest things to discern are opinions disguised as facts. In the Wizarding world, there is a belief that genealogy is the all-important factor in how powerful a wizard you will be. Some people believe that someone who's both father and mother come from a long line of wizards will be much more powerful than a wizard whose both parents are muggles. Other believe that genetics or as it's crudely put blood has no impact but its knowledge and practice that make you more powerful.

But someone from either point of view can write a book. So here I find myself with a pile of books written by people who disagree with each other, some of these opinions agree with my view point so I'm naturally inclined to agree with those, but just because someone writes a book whose view I disagree with doesn't make his book worthless. He may have come to the right conclusion even using the wrong route to get there. I heaven forbid may be wrong, unlikely I know. So Harry today I shall start to teach you how to read, if you want to learn."

Harry nodded and took the offered chair. Luna smiled and left them to it She could have recited most of her dads speech herself it was one of the hardest things to learn and something he had repeatedly drilled into her, to question, to check, to seek conformation. That was one of the hidden agendas of The Quibbler to make people question everything they read by printing plausible, but entirely false stories.

Now to shock some healers world view of just what was possible, she headed back into the house and up stairs to the living room where her mum and a slightly older women was waiting for her.

Selene greeted her "Luna I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, this is Healer Tonks."

Crossing the room Luna offered her hand in greeting. "Thank you for taking time to do this for us today"

"It's ok I owe your mum a favour or two and she has managed to engage my sense of curiosity. Now then this will take some time so take a seat as I run some diagnostic spells." Said Tonks as she took Luna's hand.

Luna sat and watched as Healer Tonks cast various spells on her, she found herself glowing with light at times, at other times runes floated around her. Healer Tonks got more and more agitated as the session went on. Luna was sure she had repeated some tests three times at least.

She finally went to take Selene by the arm so she could speak out of Luna's hearing but Selene refused.

"No Andy anything you say to me I'll just tell Luna, so save me the effort and tell me what you have found"

"Selene I know your into experimental charms, but if I find you've been experimenting on your daughter I will have to report you, friends or not. I can't explain my findings logically. Right first off Luna is healthy and has a decent height and weight for her age. All physical readings tell me she is a perfectly healthy nine year old girl. Now then magically she is something else, her magical core is actually larger than that of an adult and it took me some time to pin that down. She has two cores that have a symbiotic relationship within her one core is the size that I would expect for her age the other appears to be the size of an adult core. You need to think of them as a mixture of oil and water that has been stirred together they are completely separate but impossible to separate they don't sit side by side by are wrapped around each other in an unbelievable mix. I would guess that if she had a wand she would have the strength to perform any spell I could but there might be a problem. If the spell focused from the nine year old part even though the power would be enough because of the adult core she would be able to perform it but she might suddenly find herself feeling the effects of magical exhaustion even though it would only last a second or two.

So one, I would advise against experimenting young lady." Tonks glared at Luna s she spoke.

"Two I would expect her child's core to keep on growing so once she is seventeen she will be twice as strong as average.

Three you better give me a good reason for this situation Selene, because I keep coming back to the idea you have come up with something and experimented on your daughter"

"Thank you Healer Tonks your findings explain quite a lot, by the way did you or can you test for mental age?" Luna decided to speak and take the focus off her mum.

Tonks shook her head "There are no reliable tests for mental age I know some exist but Healers aren't taught them possibly because of the political implications."

Luna pursed her lips "I think we'll have to tell you the truth but if I do and if you find nothing illegal has happened you will have to keep this strictly confidential. Do we have an agreement?" Luna's expression took on a hard no nonsense manner. Tonks slightly flustered agreed.

Luna told Tonks about her meeting with the Snorkacks and their abilities to shunt people back along their own timeline and finding herself as a nine year old with all memories and abilities she had from her previous life. "If you require it I will swear an unbreakable vow, or take versitium if you would rather, but that is the honest truth. To prove it to my parents I cast my Patronus but you just explained that might not be the best idea."

Luna watched as Healer Tonks nodded and tried to process the information. "I'm not keen on unbreakable vows the downside being death if you break them. Versitium would not be a good idea for you in a nine year olds body." She paused as an idea come to here. "So you are twenty seven? Let's see then." She then worked her way through a set of questions that would have but a Newts exam to shame. Some random questions such as how was your wedding night had her blushing but she answered those too.

"Alright you are certainly not a nine year old. Your behaviour, your answers and the tests all point to the same thing. You don't have to worry about me telling anyone, my usual oath of confidentiality covers that."

"Thank you Healer Tonks, do you have time to do one more appointment today? Although this one is even more confidential than mine."

"Why who is it Harry Potter?"

AN

I misquoted Paul Simon a couple of chapters ago

"I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain. It's laughter and it's loving I disdain." Is how the line should go.

Thanks to Chi Vayne for pointing that out.I've been misquoting that line for close on thirty years I've also now learnt how to edit published chapters so some mistakes have been fixed.

I'm going to get flamed for suggesting GW/HP could work. It is a canon event and what I'm trying to do with most of the canon events I refer to is either give alternative motives for events or find reasons that they might have worked. I feel JKR is grossly unfair to Ginny giving her no development before having her live happily ever after.

So I gave a short alternative history for her hoping to somehow explain how she grew up and become a decent partner for Harry.

Now how to explain RW/HG without him using the imperious. Will this be a GW/HP story? Luna doesn't think so, and who am I to disagree?

Mandela was released 11 Feb 1990

Germany beat Argentina in the world cup final.

I don't remember either event.

Partially rewritten on 13/11/12 to remove swearing on life and magic. Shudder.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

Pink Floyd has some pretty fearsome lawyers too, I'm not Syd Barret and I don't own a scarecrow.

Chapter 6

Luna laughed "I'll just go get him"

She could hear Healer Tonks interrogating her mum as headed down stairs. "She's not serious is she? How did Harry Potter end up here?"

Luna headed off to her dads office to find Harry and Xeno settled in deep armchairs books open before them, Xeno however had an equally large pad next to him in which he would scribble notes every so often.

"I don't know why you gave me this project Luna; there is almost nothing of note known about those foul creatures. No one knows how to destroy them, the only things known for certain is their effect on people and Patronus' drive them off."

"I'm sorry dad but future knowledge doesn't really help here I was hoping some ancient knowledge would give us useful hints. One thing I've never understood is if they feed on positive emotions, why does a Patronus drive them away?"

"That is an interesting thought Luna, I take you've come to take my study partner away?" Xeno asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, come on Harry let's leave him to his books"

"How are you, did the doctor find anything wrong?" asked Harry with concern in his voice.

"I'm fine Harry it was just a routine check up. Witches and wizards routinely get checked out at this age."

"Which age nine or your other one?" Harry teased.

"Nine, cheeky. She is still here; would you like a check up? She will just cast some spells to see how your magical core is growing and a few other things, but no poking or prodding that a mundane doctor would do."

"If you think it would be a good idea Luna I'll do it."

Luna's heart soared at the trust she put in him. "Thank you Harry, you can have whoever you want in with you."

"Will I have to get undressed?" he asked nervously.

"No. that's the advantage with magic."

"Then you and your mum can stay if you like."

They had reached the living room and Luna watched Harry meet Andromeda Tonks for the first time, they had made quite a team raising Teddy together, hopefully she could balance the changes enough that it wouldn't affect his birth but enough that he would know his parents this time round.

Luna watched Andromeda work her through her diagnostic routine she was frowning by the end of it. "Whoever your carers are they are not feeding you properly. You have just about every vitamin deficiency I've ever heard of. Your core is underdeveloped because your magic is feeding your body. The good news however is a course of potions will correct that. Your scar is giving me strange readings but I expect that to be honest."

"What's so strange about my scar?" Harry asked.

"I'll answer that later Harry" Luna interjected before Andromeda could start to answer.

"I'll speak to Selene about a potions regime for you Harry, they will taste disgusting but medicine does in both worlds. There will be no lasting effects by the end of the summer."

Selene led Andromeda down stairs to leave Luna facing Harry.

"I've been putting off this conversation for some time Harry. I think I'll put it off a bit longer and tell you a story instead.

Let me tell you of the boy who lived.

Once upon a time there was a dark wizard called Voldemort, he was a scared orphan boy whose real name was Tom, he discovered a power to make people fear him. Just before he was eleven he meet a man who explained he was a wizard and took him to school to learn more.

Tom was brilliant and he wanted to know all he could, not for knowledge's sake but because it brought him more power. Power and being in control motivated him. Before he was fifteen he found chambers in the school that had been sealed for a thousand years and used a creature he found within it to kill a girl. He also found his family, killed his father's side and framed his mother's for the murder.

After school he took some odd jobs and then disappeared when he returned he had a new name a group of followers whose agenda he took for his own and started a war.

Anyone who opposed him died, isolated attacks on homes late at night were his preferred method. Even to say his name became a death sentence. He had power and society was on the verge of collapse.

Husbands could go to work in the morning and never come home, or worse they could be cursed so that when they came home they would kill their own families.

Everyone was afraid, some cowered and some fought. But fear gripped the country. Then one day a prophecy was spoken of one who would come with power to defeat the dark lord, but one of his servants overheard it and took news of it to his lord.

Voldemort decided that you where the one in the prophecy and attacked your parents house.

He killed your parents then he cast the killing curse at you. It hit you gave you that lightning bolt scar and rebounded hitting him. So you where found in your cot with that scar and evidence that Voldemort was destroyed.

So the news spread, Voldemort was dead and Harry Potter the boy-who-lived was proclaimed a hero."

"That is, apart from the prophecy which almost no one knows about, your story, it is why we asked you to wear a glamor when we go out in public. It was why Healer Tonks was not surprised to find strange readings off your scar. You are beyond famous in the Wizarding world some regard you as a saviour.

So what do you think of the story?"

Luna watched Harry as he went from amazement to confusion as he thought about what he'd been told.

"It makes no sense. Even if I hadn't spent an hour with your dad teaching me to question everything I could still see problems with that. How did I live? What happened to Voldemort? You said destroyed not dead. How does anyone know what happened anyway? I was the only witness and I don't remember it."

Luna had always known that Harry was clever but he surprised her, it had taken years for him to question that story in her old life. Here because she presented it as a story not as fact he had seen the flaws in it.

"Let me see, how did you live? The popular theory is because your mum sacrificed herself it offered you a protection. The power of love. I honestly don't know for a fact but I do know your mum was a genius at charms; it is a theory that she cast some spell that was powered by her death that protected you. But lots of family members must have sacrificed themselves for a loved one.

What happened to Voldemort? This one I know, whatever happened in that room destroyed his body, he is currently a wraith less even than a ghost, he is searching for a way to get a body back and return to power. He split his soul, several times in fact and unless all those soul containers are destroyed he will not die.

How does anyone know what happened in that house? Never figured that out, it might just be a created story that fits the facts, it might even be true."

Luna watched Harry she could see emotions battle on his face as he tried to sort out what to ask next.

"Does he manage to come back?"

"He did in my time yes. I know he's quiet now, the first attempt I'm aware of happened or happens during your first year at Hogwarts."

Harry nodded and went quiet, Luna knew that if she left him to himself he would start to brood over this information.

"Harry he was stopped before with a combination of skill and luck, with what I know it'll be easier this time, I know you want to act now but there is little we can do without massive effort that will give us away. We could launch an assault on one of his follower's mansion, defeat all his traps hopefully and get our hands on a soul vessel or we could wait a couple of years when it will just fall into our hands."

"I suppose, but I need to do something."

Just then Selene brought Andromeda back upstairs.

"I've given Selene a list of potions for you. Harry I imagine you get this a lot but it amazes me how much like James you are"

"Did you know my dad?"

"Not well he was a first year when I was in sixth, but he was best friends with my cousin" Andromeda's face darkened at that last statement.

"He's innocent you know Andromeda, Sirius never went dark." Harry wanted action so Luna thought this is an action she could take.

Andromeda spun to look at Luna so fast she almost had whiplash. "What? No he couldn't be, he was caught red handed."

"He wasn't the secret keeper, it was Pettigrew, when he confronted him, Peter blew up a gas pipe cut off a finger and turned himself into a rat. It might have come out if Sirius had ever had a trial. Your sister had a trial and she was caught even more red handed, Lucius was able to bribe himself free, but Sirius was innocent but never tried."

Luna looked around to see how much damage her bombshell had done, her mum just stood in the background giving her a 'I hope you know what you're doing stare'. Harry was frowning as he tried to take in new information, Andromeda was holding on to the furniture and doing a credible impersonation of a goldfish as her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. She finally managed to squeak out the words "Are you sure?"

"Positive"

Andromeda burst into tears and Selene led her to a seat. "I don't what's worse him being guilty or innocent and in that place. If we can get him free I dread to think the effect it will have had on him."

"Less than you'd expect, but he is an animagus so that helps to keep him sane." Luna confided.

Harry was still staring blankly listening but not understanding to all that was going on.

"Ok Harry here's the short version, in school your dad had a group of close friend but closest of all was Sirius, when you were born your parents went into hiding. They cast a spell that makes the place of hiding a secret; no one could tell where they were hiding except the person known as the secret keeper. When Voldemort found your parents it was obvious that he had been told the secret, everyone assumed it was Sirius, but it was another friend called Peter. A day after your parent's death Sirius confronted Peter on a public street. Peter blew up the street killing twelve people and escaped. Sirius was arrested and put into prison without a trial"

Andromeda looked up a bit bleary eyed. "If this is true I'll do everything I can, is there any proof you can give me. The ministry will be stubborn over this, they hate admitting to mistakes."

Luna thought for a second. "Does your daughter know Percy Weasley?"

"She's never mentioned him but she is friends with Charlie, would that be a brother?"

"It would. Ask her to take an interest in Percy's pet rat, if he is missing a toe on his front left paw you will have found Peter. That should do for proof."

Andromeda nodded dumbly "Are you telling me that the Weasley's have had a rat animagus living with them all this time?"

"Where better for him to hide, than a family who has close ties to Dumbledore? If there was any news on his real master they would hear it and he could rejoin him."

"I need to leave, I'm afraid you've given me so much to think about and plan. I'll see if Ted can look into Sirius' case, at least I should be able to visit him; I need to write to Dora. If this all checks out I'll have to beg Amelia for ever favour and I'll owe you one, she's ever made me in her life."

Luna watched Andromeda go from incredulous to extreme organised planner in the blink of an eye, this is what happens with Healer training she guessed the ability to function and plan no matter what you are feeling.

Watching Selene show Andromeda down to the floo Luna turned to Harry.

"How are you feeling about all this?"

"I don't know, so far you've told I'm famous for stuff I don't remember. Voldemort is not dead, but could come back. My parents where betrayed and the police got the wrong man."

"Harry if we can get Sirius free and Peter caught it will have massive implications. In my future Peter rejoined Voldemort and did massive damage. But if we can get your dads best friend free, that will have a massive positive influence. I fear however that if the rat gets suspicious he will run and everything will be much worse. It's my constant fear, I want to make changes but I'm trying to keep the good things of the future but minimise the bad."

She looked up to see Harry smiling at her. "I do trust you Luna. I know you are not telling me everything but I do see you worrying about it. I mean I'm nine and only know the little bits of this world you've shown me. But I see you do this a lot, every time you let out a bit of future that you know you worry yourself silly. "

"Thank you Harry your trust means a lot to me."

The rest of the day passed without drama as did the next few weeks. Harry visited the Lovegood's whenever the opportunity arose. He started to gain weight and some height thanks to the potions that Selene made up under Healer Tonks' instructions.

The Lovegood's received word that Percy did have a rat missing a toe. Although Andromeda told them her daughter was very confused about her mum's sudden interest in a young boys pet. Andromeda had after some major work from her husband got to visit Sirius in Azkaban. She reported back, in comparison to her sister who she had also unfortunately seen, Sirius was the picture of sanity.

Luna was relieved that to find all these things where checking out, but time was starting to march on and Luna was starting to fret about how she could continue to keep in contact with Harry once the holidays had started.

On his next visit Luna decided she would push the boundaries of legality again.

Once she brought Harry into the house she led him up to her bedroom.

"Ok Luna what event are we going to try and outwit this time?" You only bring me up here when you are about to deliver shocking news."

"Am I that predictable Harry? This time it's not future knowledge but present action that has us hiding away. I'm about to break Wizarding law again. I'm worried about the oncoming summer holidays and I've been racking my brain for a way to keep in contact. I doubt your uncle would be thrilled if I sent you an owl, and likewise the floo is out. We don't have a phone line here and mobiles are a bit bulky at the moment, regular post is too slow so I was running out of options. So I've decided to give you a wand, but before I do Harry I need your promise you won't use it for magic."

"How will a wand help us stay in contact if I can't do magic with it?"

"Well there is another form of magical transport available. Thankfully it can be used by anyone who has a wand. All you need to do is stand on the street and stick out your wand and the bus will appear. This will put my mind at rest that you can come see us at any time over the summer if you need to."

As Harry's face clouded over Luna continued "I have no idea if you'll need it or not I know little of your early life Harry so don't go expecting trouble. Now shall we take a bus trip?"

Luna made Harry wear a hat over his most famous feature, and laughed out loud when Harry practically jumped back over the garden gate when the bus first appeared. The conductor Samson Toothill led them to armchairs at the back Luna explained they all turn to beds at night and the driver Ernie Prang set off. Harry started the ride clutching Luna in terror, but ended it laughing and cheering at the antics of the bus as it shrunk and expanded to get through gaps in the traffic, lampposts and trees jumped out of its way as it careered down the road and it moved around the country with sudden bangs and cracks.

They stopped in Hogsmeade and did some window-shopping.

"Right Harry it's time to be going, I'll lend you my wand on this occasion and you call the bus." Luna instructed.

Harry gingerly took Luna's wand and pointed it out hailing the as yet unseen bus.

With a loud crack, the bus appeared in front of them and with more confidence this time, Harry led the way.

"Where do I ask for?"

"The Rookery is the official name but if you just ask for the Lovegood's house they will get you there."

After another eventful knight bus journey Luna led Harry back indoors.

"Ok Harry, I can lend you a wand but please under no circumstances use it for any magic but calling the bus. It was my maternal grandmothers so keep it safe please."

Harry nodded his agreement, and soon it was time for him to head home.

After Luna returned home she was greeted by Selene.

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing giving him a wand?"

"No mum I'm not. I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing with any of this. I'm just doing my best and hoping it turns out alright. You know Harry has three kids in my time, he's devoted to them and they may never be born with the changes I foresee.

Pettigrew was never caught but returned To Voldemort and helped him return him to life, but not till the end of Harry's fourth year. What if letting the Tonks' know about him tips him off, and he heads out to Voldemort early?

Harry has more self esteem now thanks to what we are doing; he is healthier now but is that enough?

I don't know what is one child's happiness balanced against an early return of Voldemort and a longer reign of terror?"

Luna was starting to come apart as all her insecurities started to surface.

"It might all be pointless anyway, Harry had to die last time but came back, but there where so many strange circumstances around his death I don't which one is the relevant one. He might still die but not come back to life."

Luna's word dried up and Selene moved to hold her crying daughter. Gentle rocking her to calm her, once she was under control Selene probed for more of the story and so Luna told Selene about Horcruxes and the one lodged in Harry's scar, she told how Harry became master of all three Hallows and how when Voldemort killed Harry it was using the Elder Wand.

"So the spell killed the Horecrux and Harry returned to life. But would that happen again, I don't know anyone who knows for sure."

"Ok Luna that can be my new project. I've been a bit reluctant to do any spell research for some time but this is a project I can really get into. I have to tell you I already know more than your average which about Horcruxes mostly because I'm not afraid to read books published in other countries.

European countries have one attitude to the soul, but eastern countries especially those that believe in reincarnation don't view it in the same way. I can already hear some books calling to me"

Luna smiled she knew her mums passionate nature came to the fore whenever she got a new project she could become almost a total recluse and poor all her energy into it until she had found a solution.

"Mum I need to give you another project as well, one you won't enjoy as much. I need you to make closer ties to the Weasleys. If you ever bump into Molly or Arthur could you please invite them to dinner?"

Selene grimaced "I assume this is one of those future things?"

"It's a long term plan it will be easier to stop Ginny unleashing a basilisk on the school if I have at least some passing contact with her."

Selene shuddered "Putting it like that I can put up with Molly for an evening or two, but every time she offers an opinion as solid fact she sets my teeth on edge."

"Don't worry mum I'll be loony when she's over, the snuffling flurgdidders will be infesting her hair by the time I'm done with her. It will keep her off balance and the less people who know I'm the brains behind this operation the better."

"Luna I understand your motives but its bad enough you went through one life keeping people at bay, don't do it twice."

"I'm honest with you, dad and Harry, I'll let some chosen others in later, that will do for now. Besides how do you think I cope surrounding myself with nine year old girls, without seeing if I can get their eyes to pop out with my little sayings, beliefs and songs?"

Luna adopted a singsong voice and let her eyes go a little vacant.

"The black and green scarecrow

As everyone knows

Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere

He didn't care.

He stood in a field where Barley grows

His head did no thinking his arms didn't move

Except when the wind cut up rough

And mice ran around on the ground

He stood in a field where barley grows

The Black and green scarecrow was sadder than me

But now he resigned to his fate because life's not unkind he doesn't mind

He stood in a field where barley grows."

She finished her song blinked once and her eyes took on her usual determined look.

Selene stared at her daughter for a minute before asking, "What was that?"

"Early Pink Floyd, people keep trying to engage me in conversations about music. Well usually only once anyway. I just can't keep up with all the mundane popular culture so I stay with music that's either obscure or old or preferably both."

Luna left Selene to her research feeling slightly better than she did. She still doubted herself and the changes she was making but knew her mum would get to the bottom of the Horecrux issue better than anyone she knew.

Time moved on with no great progress in any of the projects she had started in motion. Ted Tonks was hitting a wall in any legal attempts to get Sirius' case reopened, although Andromeda had hinted she had a major card to play if nothing had happened by the end of August.

Selene was still in the gathering material and information phase of her horecrux quest.

Xeno was working on the paper and new research for that, as well as planning his usual summer expedition, so his research on dementors remained unfinished. Selene and Luna felt it more important to stay at home this year within reach of Harry rather than go traipsing through the wilds on another animal hunt.

The usual British summer weather broke with a week on solid rain, Harry visited as often as he could but Petunia didn't like to let her gardener get away for too much time.

Still there was one positive development Selene had seen Molly Weasley in Ottery-St-Catchpole and had invited her Arthur and the two youngest over for dinner, this was on the pretext that Selene was worried that Luna was becoming increasingly introverted with no children her own age to spend time with. Diaries where synchronised and the date of June the 23 was set on.

The morning of the 23rd dawned clear and bright. Harry visited briefly in the morning and they time turned some hours together. There was tension all around neither Luna nor Selene where overly looking forward to having the Weasley matriarch over, but Harry had almost reverted to his behaviour from five months earlier.

"What's a matter Harry? The last time I saw you this jumpy I had to rescue you off a roof."

"It's Dudley's birthday and his Aunt Marge is visiting today. Dudley just loves showing off all he's got knowing I'll have nothing next month and Marge just spends her time insulting me and saying how great Dudley is." He admitted.

It was a very reluctant Harry who was taken back to Little Whinging. Luna kept reassuring him that he would get through it and urged him to not respond to the insults.

"Mum I have a really bad feeling about this. I know on Harry's last meeting with Marge he had a bout of accidental magic when she insulted Lily. That was when he was thirteen and was supposed to have more control."

"Luna if you knew something specific I'd cancel on the Weasley's but I'm sure you'd know if anything too bad had happened."

Selene and Luna continued to prepare for the visit and that evenings dinner.

Selene gave Luna a last minute pep talk. "Remember they coming so you can make friends with Ginny. Don't be too strange just to annoy Molly that you end up scaring Ginny off. Don't forget you are nine so you'd better put that wand away."

Six o'clock and the Weasley's arrived together. Molly bustled in like a force of nature hugging 'dear Selene' and greeting 'little Luna' with a pinch of the cheek. Arthur, Ron and Ginny followed in her wake.

Soon they were all sitting at the table eating and making small talk as people who don't really know each other do.

In between courses Luna joined Selene in the kitchen to help bring in dessert.

"Did you see the way that boy eats I pity whoever he ends up marrying"

Luna was unfortunately drinking as Selene made this comment and had to be patted on the back and dried off before she could speak again. "So do I mum. There might be a perfect women out there for Ron but I can tell you who it isn't"

The rest of the evening continued normally Luna was able to talk to Ginny, although conversation was a little stilted in front of her parents. However permission was granted for Luna to visit Ginny in the future.

At nine the gradual process of leaving began and peace thankfully returned to the Lovegood household by nine thirty. Charms where cast, plates where cleaned and the kitchen and living room returned to normality.

Luna was startled out her sleep by a loud crack outside. It was definitely dark outside and her body clock was telling her it was the middle of the night. Whatever it was that woke her was not repeated however about ten seconds later there was a loud and insistent hammering at the door. Luna made it to the front door to find Selene waiting for her.

"Good you're here; get your wand ready before I open the door."

Selene gingerly opened the door to find a weeping Harry on the other side of it. He threw himself into Selene's arms and was heard to repeat "I'm not going back" over and over.

**A.N.**

It's so much fun playing in JKR's world. Just trying to track down what year Andromeda was in when Sirius was a first year takes ages. Some characters have full bios others it's just best guess.

My thanks to those people who work on the HP Lexicon.

This is a few years before POA so Stan hasn't started work yet.

Molly annoys me as a character so I've skipped giving her dialogue I've tried to get into her head but in the end she isn't really as bad as I'd want to write her.

Just because all her sons left home first chance they get.

Scarecrow by Pink Floyd from Piper at the Gates of Dawn. All rights to their respective copyright holders.

I can really see Syd Barret and the canon Luna getting on together. My Luna has somewhat different motives for everything she did.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

Chapter 7

Selene half-led half carried Harry into the house and sat them both awkwardly at the kitchen table. "Tea please Luna"

As Luna bustled round the kitchen making tea Harry's weeping storm calmed down. Once he'd taken a few sips he started to talk.

"It's Dudley's birthday today and his aunt Marge was visiting and she'd brought her favourite dog Ripper. It's a big mean bulldog, well when Marge arrived she let Ripper off his chain and after being nice to Dudley she started shouting at me. She came over to me, started calling me a runt, and poked me in the chest. That was when I stepped on Ripper the dog growled at me and Marge told him to 'get me'. The thing chased me up a tree, I was there all day. Dudley laughed so much he threw up, then he phoned his friends, and they all came round to laugh at me. I was there all day, and every so often someone would come out of the house to laugh."

Harry's tears had started again, it was clear that this humiliation was turning to anger. "They left me up there till gone midnight. Marge called Ripper in then and shut the door leaving me up the tree. They called in the dog but shut me out. So I got the wand Luna gave me and came here.

Can I stay here please; I'm not going back there. They hate me and I hate them."

Luna looked over at Selene and shrugged this was outside of her experience, it would be as much her mums call as hers.

"You can stay tonight Harry. But I think we should notify someone you are here."

"Are you going to call the police?"

"Not yet Harry. Luna can you call Ted Tonks, he has a foot in both worlds and will be best to give us advice."

Luna set off to the fireplace and could see her mum's logic. At some point authorities would need to be informed or else they would find themselves having to answer questions from officials from either magic or mundane authorities.

It took a good five minutes of shouting before a bleary-eyed Ted answered her call. Once she'd explained the situation to him "Yes that Harry Potter" he told her he'd be straight over once he'd explained the situation to Andromeda and put some clothes on.

In the end, Andromeda came over with Ted so she could check on Harry's physical condition while Ted could advise them of the best way forward.

They had moved to the living room and Harry was starting to drift off to sleep on a sofa when the Tonks' arrived.

A few simply tests showed Harry had slight dehydration after being outside for over twelve hours with nothing to drink.

Her simple solution of a sports drink went down better than a potion would. This just left the problem of Harry refusing to go back to the Dursley's.

"We have two issues here. One is the child welfare and abuse of Harry, the other is keeping everything above board for the Lovegood's, if Harry's relatives do notify the police of a missing person you could be open to charges of child abduction. I don't advise going to the police ourselves because we will have too much explaining of how Harry got from Surrey to Devon in the space of an hour at night. Public transport is not great in the early hours of the morning.

So I suggest we contact MagLep now, and if things start to get political Andy will have to contact her good friend Amelia to see if we can cut corners."

"I'm sorry" interjected Luna "Who are MagLep?"

Ted laughed "Sorry bad habit, Magical law enforcement patrol. If I went straight to the Aurors office this would be on Fudges desk before the day is out, then we'd find ourselves in front of the Wizengamot for a hearing by Monday morning and next thing you know my dear brother-in-law would have custody.

Once we've informed MagLep we can let them liaise with the muggle police. The lower we keep this within the bureaucracy the better."

Ted left them to make the necessary call. Luna started to fret over doing the right thing. Ted was right one misstep here and Harry would be brought to the attention of the whole Wizarding world.

While she fretted over doing the right thing Ted reappeared with two MagLep officers who he introduced as Alistor Gumboil and Tilden Pepper. Harry was woken and Tilden gently coaxed Harry's story out of him.

First yesterday's events with Marge, and then after Luna made a suggestion his wider treatment there, including his sleeping arrangements.

Alistor's face darkened throughout the story as he took notes when it was obvious the Harry had told all he was going to he gestured for Ted and Selene to move away from Harry so they could talk together. Luna moved slightly so she was able to overhear the conversation.

"Right, first off that was a genuine story. Tilden is amazing at getting kids to talk which is why I brought her. Chances are that wasn't all of it either I've never known a kid to exaggerate mistreatment from a family situation. You might get the odd false accusation against teachers but I'd bet my pension there wasn't a word false in that.

Second off I can see why you asked for me here Ted. This is going to go political. I think I'll hand this report into Bones personally, let's face it this is why she takes the galleons home.

Mean time it's obvious that Harry is happy here so I'm more than willing to let him stay overnight, if you can answer me one question. Why is a boy who by his own confession lives in Surrey happy here in Devon?"

Selene paled slightly as she tried to figure her response to this. She settled for a version of the truth. "Luna saw him on the street of his home town and recognised him; she then returned and befriended him. After making his confidence she introduced him to me and I've apparated him over here many times. "

"And why where you there in Little Whinging?" he asked as he consulted his notes.

"Xeno decided it would be a good idea to have a muggle postal address so we rented the cheapest office space he could find. Xeno's geography of Britain is rubbish probably because he just apparates everywhere. It was on one of those visits that Luna decided to go for a wander and she saw Harry."

"Fine then, I'll leave Tilden here so that everything stays above board. I'll get our muggle liaison guys to check in with the Surrey police to see if they have received a missing persons report. If those Dursley's haven't reported him missing by midday they will be in even more trouble. Everything we have so far involves Harry giving testimony although if a physical search of the property bares out his testimony that will be pretty damning. However, if we have him and they don't declare him missing that's evidence of neglect right there.

I'll head back now and start getting things together to let Bones know." He turned to Selene "See if you can come up with a better story by the morning. It's obvious you care for the boy, but really a chance meeting on a muggle street" Alistor laughed a bitter little laugh and headed for the floo.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you in the morning"

Once he had left, Selene started transfiguring furniture into bedding, for all those who were staying over.

Tilden stayed in a chair and started writing up reports. The rest of the house headed off for an uneasy night's sleep.

Morning dawned bright and early, at eight o'clock the fire turned green and Alistor's head appeared in the flames. "Hello Lovegood house can we come through?"

Ted Tonks answered, "Who is with you?"

"Amelia Bones head of the DMLE and Jennifer Hopkins Child Welfare"

Ted stepped back and lowered his voice to speak to Selene. "They are both good people, I've never meet Hopkins but her reputation is fantastic, muggle born so no connections to the elite."

"Yes you can enter" Selene answered the flames spat the three out and they entered into the kitchen.

Luna looked to Harry who was starting to shrink back into himself. He was aware they were all here because of him and he was trying to make himself look as small as possible. Luna gave up on trying to eavesdrop too many conversations at once and decided talking to Harry would be the best thing she could do.

Luna sat down next to Harry and Tilden got up to confer with Jennifer and Alistor. In another part of the kitchen was Amelia Bones was with her mother and both Tonks'.

"Scary isn't it Harry?"

He just nodded in response. "These are all good people; you cannot find a fairer person than Amelia Bones anywhere. She always works to her best ability without fear or favour. Whatever happens, if she is involved it will be for your best."

Tilden came over to join them leading Jennifer Hopkins. She got down on her knees and looked up at Harry. He was sitting on a padded fireside chair he'd brought his knees up to his chest and was hunkering down behind them. Luna leaned in and touched his arm and he relaxed a fraction.

"Hello Harry. You don't mind me calling you Harry, Mr Potter is very formal" her accent was unmistakably from South Wales but she was keeping her voice low and gentle.

Harry smiled slightly "No Harry's fine."

"Tilden has told me most of what I need to know but I need to confirm a few details. Did your Aunt or Uncle make any effort to help yesterday when the dog chased you?"

Luna watched Harry's eyes flash he went from scared to angry in a space of a heartbeat. Across the room, a cup shattered.

"Help? Petunia just stood and stared as if it was all my fault, but Vernon laughed himself silly. In fact he took turns with Dudley coming out all evening to laugh at me."

"How are they related to you Harry?"She asked him.

"They're my aunt and uncle." He answered slightly puzzled.

Jennifer laughed lightly "No I meant are they related to your dad or your mum"

"Petunia is my mum's sister."

"I guess they must have been close for you to end up living with them, do they ever tell you about your parents?"

"Yes they tell me about them. They tell me my dad was a useless layabout who never worked a day in his life. They tell me my mum was a fool for marrying him. They tell me they died in a car crash. They tell me he was probably drunk when he did. They tell me I'll turn out as just as useless as him."

Harry's statements where punctuated with the sharp cracks of accidental magic as cups in the room exploded.

"Ok Harry one last question and I think I can guess your answer. Will you be willing to return to them?"

"Never, but I don't want to end up in an orphanage. Can I live here?" Harry Pleaded.

"Harry I never make promises I can't keep, but I promise you this I will do the best I can for you. Thank you for talking to me"

Jennifer moved back to confer with Tilden and Alistor, leaving Harry and Luna alone. Amelia Bones joined the group and once she had been briefed, she motioned for Selene to join her in talking to Harry.

"Hello Harry, I believe you've asked to stay here? Well I have to be honest with you, depending on how your relatives act that might be impossible. If they officially report you as a missing person to the police there will be too much of a paper trail for this to stay a strictly magical matter. Under those circumstances, a purely magical family could never become your guardians. We would have to find someone that a muggle social worker would find acceptable."

Andromeda jutted in "Harry I, that is we, Ted and I will offer you a place to stay if it comes to that. We even have the excuse of being related. We're 3rd cousins or first cousins 4 times removed or some such rot."

"Cousins?" Asked Harry.

"Yes Harry distant cousins but family all the same." She smiled at him.

"Anyway" Said Amelia "If that's acceptable to you Harry, the Tonks' offer will be our fallback position. It would be good on lots of levels. Ted practices in both worlds, Andy is a pureblood elite and they have a daughter who is I believe excelling in school. In the meantime, I'm happy to let you stay here with the Lovegoods provided their home has passed inspection by a child welfare officer and a senior officer in the DMLE. "Amelia gestured to Jennifer and Alistor "They should be able to apply for temporary custody providing they can find a solicitor willing to work on a Sunday" she glanced at Ted "who can provide the forms for them. Then they just have to find another DMLE officer willing to grant approval."

Amelia buffed her monocle and placed it in her eye. "They are hard to find these days, so you might have to wait all of half an hour for the process to work."

Harry's smile now beamed "Is that it. I can live here?"

Amelia smiled. "No Harry nothing is that simple. But it will give us breathing space, and let you stay here until a more formal application is received. It may all still come to nothing if Muggle social services get involved."

Luna looked around the room as Ted produced paperwork for nearly everyone to work on. Alistor and Tilden having to fight through their tiredness, this was turning into a long shift for them. By mid morning, the paperwork was completed and all the DMLE officials left. The Tonks' left as well. Just before they left, Harry surprised everyone by giving Andromeda a spontaneous hug.

"Thank you Healer Tonks and you Mr Tonks for the offer to stay with you."

"Call us Andy and Ted, Harry. Or if you feel uncomfortable with that Aunty or Uncle, but please we are family and I have very little of that who are willing to speak to me anymore, so there is no need for formality between us."

Once the house had emptied leaving Harry and the Lovegoods together, they all returned to the living room.

"How are you feeling Harry?" asked Selene.

"I don't know. I'm free of those people, I can stay here I've got another offer from people I've found out are family. But I'm not free they could go to the police at any time. I've never had anything good happen to me. A new friend, Dudley would beat them up, any toy he would take away or break. I know this can't last. "

Luna too fretted while she was overjoyed to get Harry away from the Dursley's he had now become known to the Wizarding world 12 months earlier than her timeline. She wondered how Amelia would be able to keep reports of Harry away from Fudge and if he found out it wouldn't take long for the Wizengamot to be made aware, and then it would be politics at play between Dumbledore, Fudge and Malfoy.

Selene was doing her best to keep the household occupied both Harry and Luna where brooding over all that could go wrong.

"Come on Luna snap out of it, Harry's allowed to worry he's only nine. You're a big girl now stop just sitting there and worrying"

"Sorry mum the wrackspurts must have got in. Harry let me tell you of those terrible creatures."

Luna spent the rest of the morning telling Harry tales of strange magical creatures, making him try to guess what was real and what had been made up. Once he accepted the existence of dragons and unicorns, he had a hard time not believing in some of the more outlandish things Luna told him.

It was just before lunchtime when the floo flared green and Ted and Amelia asked to come through.

"I'm sorry everyone but the Dursley's have reported Harry missing to Surry police." Amelia got straight to the point.

"Although I'm betting they wish they hadn't. We had a child welfare officer and MagLEP officer loitering around Surry police headquarters. They where pretending to be the Hampshire police equivalent. So they told the Surry branch you had been found at a relative's house in Hampshire and gave a brief detail of your allegations.

Surry police visited the Dursley's they found your cupboard. Vernon got threatening and was arrested. The dog tried to bite a police officer and will be taken away to be destroyed. Oh and both Petunia and Marge where cautioned for their behaviour.

But we now need to get you over to the Tonks' house for social services to check it's a safe environment for you."

Luna got up to hug Harry. "Don't worry Harry, you'll love it at the Tonks, and you'll have fun with Andy and Ted's daughter."

Harry with tears in his eyes embraced Luna and Selene "Thank you both."

Ted got down making eye contact with Harry. "Harry I know this is not what you wanted but I promise we'll treat you as well as we treat Dora. But one piece of good news I guarantee you will never go back to the Dursley's. The way it's looking now they will be lucky to keep custody of their own son."

Luna watched Harry and Ted disappear into the floo as Amelia Bones made ready to depart she called to her. "Madam Bones have you made any progress with finding Peter Pettigrew?"

Amelia sighed, "I wondered where Andy got that information from? You know the fact that it originated from the same people who came up with the Rotfangs doesn't help to build credibility."

"Amelia you know that's unfair, you know why Xeno runs those stories as well as I do." Selene stepped in to defend both her husband and daughter"

"What would you need as evidence to convince you?"

"Well to be convinced I'd need Peter trussed up and bound with a full confession. But if you could point me to one person who actually knew he was an animagus that would help."

Luna leaned in to whisper to her mum.

"You could try asking Remus Lupin, he knows. whether he'd be willing to admit to it would be another matter."

"Fine then I'll have someone look into finding him and interviewing him about his old school friend."

Once Amelia had departed, Selene and Luna sat down to lunch together.

"So Luna, how has the last twenty-four hours been for your time changing plans? You've made first contact with The Weasley's with promises of going to play dolls with Ginny. You have also got Harry away from his relatives and in with a loving family."

"Well ignoring the fact I'd have liked to have Harry live here, him living with the Tonks' is fantastic. If he were living here, I'd always have a fear of Malfoy finding out and trying to apply for Custody of Harry. After all, we are the publishers of that joke magazine. But Andromeda is as much a pure blood as Lucius and as closely related to Harry as him.

The fact that it will end up being done by muggle law will confuse them as well. Once upon a time, they could have sent in the oblivators and run roughshod over the muggles, but you find me a pureblood who can hack the computer records of all the mundane government departments that will now know about Harry."

Selene laughed "Speaking as a pureblood witch I had no idea what you just said never mind do it"

"and don't think I won't get you back about playing with dolls remark either. No the dinner with the Weasley's went better than I expected, Molly has allowed me to visit and that's all I need for now. Thinking about it, Harry living here might have been a bit awkward if I wanted to befriend Ginny."

"So everything is working out then?"

"For now at least. We can stop renting that office as well and I can pull out of that school. Although I'm in two minds about trying to get into Harry's new school."

The afternoon passed and about six o'clock the flue flared green. "Lovegood residence can Harry come through?"

"Come on through Harry," answered Selene.

First out of the floo was not Harry but a young witch who had emerald green hair, although on second thoughts her hair was the exact same colour as Harry's eyes.

Luna recognised Nymphadora Tonks but her mum was startled by her appearance out of the floo.

Selene had her wand out "Where's Harry?"

Just then, the floo flared green again and out stumbled Harry. Nymphadora had positioned herself to catch him as he exited the floo.

"I'm sorry I should have announced myself as well. I'm Andromeda and Ted's daughter. You can call me Tonks. Harry has problems with exiting the floo so asked me to come and catch him."

Luna stepped forward "Hello Nymphadora Tonks I'm Luna. pleased to meet you. That's nice hair on your head. Wrackspurts don't like bright colours. Is that why it's green?"

Tonks hair shifted colours to mousey blond and then back to green as she looked up at it.

"Um no I've never heard of wrackspurts, it's just green to match my new cousins eyes. Anyway now I've got him here I'll head back home. Harry if you need help on the journey back have one of the Lovegood's give us a call before you set off."

Tonks headed back into the floo leaving Harry alone with Luna and Selene.

"You're lucky she didn't hex you she hates being called by her full name. Why where you so strange with her?"

"I'm sorry Harry it's just a bit overwhelmed seeing her again. She saved my life in my old life. I just didn't know how to react, part of me wanted to run and hug her It was just a bit overwhelming so I hid myself away." Luna took a moment to gather herself together. Seeing Dora alive again had almost shredded her self control.

"Enough of that how did things go with the Tonks'? Asked Selene.

"It was fantastic. The social workers and police turned up. They all knew Ted from his work, so I answered a few questions. How did the Dursley's treat me? Was I happy there? Did I want to stay there?"

"I think because they all know Ted it will be as easy there as it was this morning. But I've been given my own room there, it's got a bed and everything. Andy's even said she'll get me some clothes to put in the wardrobe tomorrow.

Dora's lots of fun too she can change her hair and her nose and do all sorts of cool tricks like that."

Selene and Luna where beaming as Harry slowed for breathe.

"Harry I'm glad it's worked out for you. This is without doubt the happiest I've seen you" Selene said to him.

"I didn't mean I wouldn't have been happy to move here you know" Harry glanced down to avoid eye contact.

"We know Harry, we always wanted you away from the Dursley's but you where scared to end up alone. It looks like things are going to go right for you." Luna reassured him.

"I couldn't have done it without you. If you hadn't shown me how people are meant to act towards each other I wouldn't have left them. I'd have been stuck living in that house all my life."

"So tell us about the Tonks' place."

"It's fantastic it's an old house by itself there is a strange mix in there. In some rooms, Ted has normal stuff like TV's and videos. He has a computer in his office. In those rooms, they have a rule on not using magic. But in the kitchen it's nearly all run by magic, Andy says it does the same stuff as muggle things but it saves the electricity bills."

"The social workers are talking about getting me into a local school. There is a really good one just round the corner Otterbourne or something. Will you be coming to school with me next year Luna? You could apparate there or use the floo to come to the Tonks' house."

"I don't know if I'll be joining you in school. I only joined school because I was worried about you. I'm twenty-seven so I don't really need to go. Also if I dropped out of your old school and applied to your new one the social workers might notice."

Harry's face fell. As Luna explained herself.

"Don't be so down Harry, you can floo over whenever you want to see us. Remember the only reason you had no friends before was because Dudley wouldn't let you have any. You'll be fine in a week or two. I know it'll be strange not seeing you all day but we're not going to abandon you."

Harry perked up at that. "Magic is fantastic I keep thinking with you being in another town I won't see you so much. But I guess there's not much difference between Little Whinging or Winchester as far as magic is concerned.

Do you want to come and see where I'm living? I can show you around, the Tonks' did say I can invite you over whenever I want."

"We'd be delighted to Harry but just check and ask before we come over."

Andromeda readily agreed. She cleared both Luna and Selene with the house floo system so they could visit whenever they wanted. Luna was fascinated by Harry acting like a child for the first time in her experience of knowing him. He was just excited about everything. Most nine year old boys would dread the idea of an upcoming clothes shop but the idea of getting clothes that fit him had brought him to tears. A mixture of grief for what he'd missed and gratitude for what he now had.

The summer passed with either Harry or Luna flooing to one house or the other.

Social services where happy for Andromeda and Ted to foster Harry. So that cloud lifted. He was accepted into Otterbourne C of E school, social workers leaned on the headmaster so normal selection criteria was ignored.

Luna slightly defrosted with Dora but still struggled with her feelings towards her. In her last life, Dora had taken a curse meant for Luna cast by Bellatrix. Watching the rather pixie like Dora morph back to her mousey true state as her life slipped away had been heartbreaking.

Today however was another day filling with tension. Plans had been made but still no plan survived first contact with the enemy. Luna found herself hunkered down behind the sofa, Andromeda was pressing down against her trying to hide in the same space. Across the room, she could hear her dad complaining about the discomfort and being hushed by her mum.

The room quieted down and they could hear footsteps approaching, this was it. It was only a matter of time before they entered the room. She just hoping everything was going to turn out all right.

A.N.

Yes I know what I said but I managed to squeeze out another chapter before Christmas. Not quite my usual 5k . Don't expect another chapter before the week of the 10th-14th of Jan.

There are some clichés I'm avoiding others are easy to give into. So Andromeda is a healer and Ted a solicitor. I've read so many fics where this has happened that I was surprised to find it wasn't a canon fact.

Other things I though canon appears not to be. Dumbledore's tracking charms on Harry. Are not explicitly stated in the books? I know he has all those weird devices in his office but it doesn't state exactly what they do. If he had such devices, would he have Mrs Figg move in to keep an eye on him?

I am trying to stay as close to canon as possible in this, so invention will be kept to minimum. Don't expect to find a Potter mansion full of magical weapons so Harry can arm the DA and take on the Death Eaters.

Changes will occur because of Luna's actions or from the growing of Harry's character now knowing what is to have some self esteem.

Although JKR's Harry was a recluse, mine will live in an expanded world.

JKR told a fantasy story about a boy, she never really got to grips with how her world worked.

The question I keep wrestling with is what Luna would know.

The later events of the books I can see others if not Harry talking about. Ron sitting around a fire in the evening and telling tales. Do you remember that time we rode a dragon?

Hermione confiding in her non-Weasley friend to unburden herself. "and then he left us it, got too bad and he just ran out on us"

But even a future Harry will neither brag about his adventures or moan about how bad things where. "Yeah it was pretty bad" but not give details.

As this tale is trying to keep to Luna's pov and stay within what Luna knows and worse still remembers canon events may still well happen. Such as Harry, Ripper and the tree.

Things Harry might have told Ron or Hermione would not have been told to everyone.

Magical law enforcement patrol is canon. Let's face it you don't call the SWAT team to report a missing child even if you ring the emergency services.

I'm not a genealogist and although I see the relationship between Andromeda and Harry I can't work it out. The assumption is that Charlus is Harry's grandfather and then married into the Black family.

Otterbourne School does exist in Winchester. According to Wikipedia and that is never wrong. It will be used in purely a fictional context.

Ps For those people who want a proper canon Luna go read Arpad Hrunta, Protection from Nargles .


	8. Chapter 8

8

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

Chapter 8

This was it Luna could hear them getting closer.

The door opened and they entered the room.

"Surprise!" they all shouted. The lights went on illuminating the happy birthday banner. The indoor fireworks purchased from Zonko's went off. Harry just stood there open mouthed his fight or flight reflexes not certain what to do. Dora stood in the doorway not giving him an exit.

"Happy Birthday Harry" said Andy "double figures, it's all downhill from here."

The rest of the room came over to wish him happy birthday. It was quite a small group with only the Lovegood's and Tonks' present.

Harry just stood at the edge of the room he had barely been able to speak since everyone had burst out on him. Just the occasional acknowledgement of a greeting. Luna nudged Andy and she saw it too. She walked over to him and bending down took him into a hug. He collapsed in tears in her embrace.

"I… never….had…..birthday…..anything…..before..." could just be made out between his sobs.

Andy held him until the sobbing subsided.

Ted came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry I promised we'd treat you the same as we treat Dora. I won't show favouritism between the two of you. Although" Ted paused dramatically and lowered his voice "I think you'll find that she'll get more dresses for her birthday than you, but just say the word and I'll buy you any dress you want."

Harry and Andy laughed at that, and Harry was able to enjoy the rest of the party once the tension had been broken.

Luna and Harry continued to visit over the summer. Whenever Harry visited, he was able to tell Luna tales of wonder. The Tonks' had taken him to this or that. For Harry who had spent most of his life either at school, slaving away in a house or locked out of the way in a cupboard then the muggle world was as much a marvel to him as the Wizarding. Ted had taken him to see Southampton football club, the whole family had gone to see a Wimbourne Wasps quiddich game.

Luna was enjoying watching him becoming a normal person rather than the recluse she had known.

Luna now felt she could begin to focus on other events. Discreet enquirers found that she was too late to help Neville his family had discovered he was magical so had stopped dropping him out of windows. She also found that Augusta was as over protective as she remembered and couldn't find a way for the daughter of the owner of that silly little magazine to get to the last member of the house of Longbottom.

Still there where others things she could accomplish and in that frame of mind she tracked down her mum.

"So mum what have you learnt about horcruxes?"

Selene sighed, "Why do I feel like I'm back at Hogwarts having to hand in an assessment? Well first things first, Voldemort is an idiot. There are two ways of gaining immortality and both have their flaws. But if I was as clever as he's supposed to be I'd have tried to make a philosophers stone. The problem with a stone is it keeps you at the age you are when you take the elixir. While you don't grow old and it also cures most injuries and all diseases, it doesn't stop you from dying if you have an accident. Anything that would kill you or I would kill someone taking the elixir.

"That's where horcruxes come in. You divide your soul and anything that kills your body doesn't kill your soul and allows you to come back to life. However, and this is the big one it doesn't stop you aging. Users of horcruxes have to get periodically new bodies and new bodies are generally unstable and age faster than your first one. The other problem is how do you split your soul? You say he made multiple horcruxes?"

"Yes we think he intended to have six so he intended to have his soul in seven pieces. But he didn't know that Harry was one so he made seven plus himself."

"My opinion of him goes down of him with every piece of new information. Here let me explain" Selene took a bowl of water. "If he had delved a little deeper into horcrux law he might have found there are less damaging ways to split your soul than the method he used. If you are strong enough there are eastern techniques that allow you to separate you soul. Although they don't use the same terminology as we do here in Europe." Selene took six cups and scooped out water from the bowl. "There we go soul separated into seven pieces. Piece in the main body still the largest and the other six all about equal size. However, young Voldemort I'm guessing first came across horcruxes in books condemning the practice as the darkest of all dark magic's. How the only way to split the soul would be by damaging it and then placing those broken pieces into vessels."

Selene took the bowl of water and waved her wand above it. The water froze solid. "Now then dear break off six pieces for me."

Luna could see where this demonstration was going and at first tried to break the ice cleanly but soon just settled for breaking it and was soon taking to hitting it with her shoe.

"A perfect analogy. The first piece you broke off was about a third of the overall size. By the time you got to six there where splinters everywhere and the main body was smaller than the first piece you broke off. If I'm right in my research it suggests a horcrux has to be a certain size to anchor the soul. Harry was not made as a horcrux but ended up with one of these splinters embedded in him when Voldermorts body was destroyed.

You told me the first one managed to possess Ginny within a month or so of owning it. The locket affected anyone wearing it almost immediately. Those ones must have been made early and deliberately. Harry has a piece of Voldemort's soul in his head for over eight years and he hasn't been affected by it. That would be because although it might be a piece of his soul I don't think is big enough to class as a horcrux. It might provide a psychic link, and if the same size piece was placed in an animal he would be able to control it, but it will never be strong enough to possess Harry. The only problem I can see with my theory will be testing it. All we need to do is destroy all the other horcruxes and see if the piece in Harry is big enough to anchor Voldemort down."

"Mum that is fantastic news, can you work on ways to test this theory. But I don't understand if Horcruxes are so easy to make using eastern techniques how come we are not up to our ears in thousand year old Chinese wizards?"

"I never said easy I said less damaging and more controlled. The power levels involved would limit it to about one percent of the Wizarding population. The other factor is you need more than one person to help you. While undergoing the process you have to allow yourself to be completely vulnerable. Any person helping you could kill you with a slip in concentration. So not easy, but better than shattering your own soul to pieces."

"By the way Andy tells me Amelia is willing to take some rat catching action."

"That's fantastic mum. Hopefully that will go some way to get Sirius out"

Selene grimaced. "That was the good news. Ted has been looking into Sirius' case. The reason he wasn't given a formal trial was he confessed."

"But he wasn't the Potters secret keeper. How could he confess?"

"Crouch knew him and was a friend so he conducted the interview. It's all on file if you know where to look and Ted does. He only asked about Peter; Sirius not only confessed to killing him but also expressed regret that he hadn't been able to take more time over the killing. He wanted him to suffer.

Crouch was so disgusted that one of his aurors could do that he had him sent to Azkaban before he tainted the image of his department."

"Still finding Peter alive and the absence of a trial gives hope that Sirius case' might be reopened."

Luna left her mum with an odd mixture of feelings. Hope her horcrux research was right, the familiar feeling of panic when she neared a tipping point of history change. Please let Peter be captured and not set off to find his master early. Also concern over Sirius still if Ted couldn't find a way to get him out legally no one could.

* * *

><p>Albus Dumbledore was also suffering from unusual mix of feelings. Doubt over his actions, could he have been wrong? Worry now over the future.<p>

He had returned from his holidays to find reports from one of his agents Arabella Figg.

He had read her letter and subsequent newspaper reports she had sent with a growing horror. Heading into his old documents, he had after some time found the letter he was looking for.

This letter was from a Petunia Evans begging to be allowed entry into his school so she could stay with her beloved sister. The letter had tearstains from the depth of her emotion. It was clear to him that Petunia loved her sister and would do anything for her. Therefore, Albus had decided whom better than such a devoted sister to raise her nephew. He knew that James and her husband did not get on and therefore it would not be a perfect childhood for Harry but Albus believed love conquered all. Surely, Petunias love for Lily would transfer to Harry?

Albus looked at the report and newspaper headlines. Surely not was his answer. Systematic long-term abuse seemed to be what he had sentenced Harry to. Doctors reporting of malnutrition, sleeping in a locked cupboard, no toys. Albus could not bear to read the details that the newspaper reported.

Also troubling him was the sentence at the end that the boy was now living with distant relatives.

Harry had no living relatives except through his grandfather's marriage into the Black family. In that case, half the pureblood families in Briton counted as distant relatives. Still a pureblood family would have left paperwork with the Wizengamot he would have his clerks look into. Finding Harry now was his priority. He glanced over at his instruments the wards he had cast over Privet Drive had nearly faded to nothing with a now empty house there instead of a family home.

Well wherever Harry was, he would not be going back to Privet Drive. Vernon Dursley was staying at her Majesty's pleasure, and while Petunia had regained custody of her son, social workers where monitoring the home situation. Dudley's weight and health where classified as abuse and where checking on him frequently.

A footnote in the papers also mentioned Marge Dursley had been charged with owning a dangerous dog and animal cruelty for destroying animals she considered runts, and was now banned from owning animals. Making her unemployed and homeless.

He just hoped that where ever Harry was someone was showing the boy love. He did not even dare to think what would happen if he had ended up with a family like the Malfoy's.

* * *

><p>September the first found Luna on platform nine and three quarters. She had arrived early and had disillusioned herself. While not as good as an invisibility cloak she would be fine providing she staying in one spot. She watched and waited, her wand strapped to her thigh, but she hoped not to need it. Families arrived some tearful at the parting, some joyful at seeing friends again. Luna also watched as Amelia Bones and two red-cloaked aurors arrived. They split up and moved around the platform. At quarter to eleven, the Weasley family arrived. It being a Saturday morning Arthur led the way. Molly was at the rear of the group holding Ginny's hand and keeping Ron close. Charlie walked up front with his father his quiddich captain badge pinned to his clothes. The twins darted around pointing and laughing looking for opportunities for jokes. Percy tried to distance himself from his younger brothers and join his father at the front of the group.<p>

Amelia approached the group and Arthur stepped forward to speak to his head of department. Luna wasn't close enough to hear the conversation but watched intently.

The two aurors surreptitiously moved to flank the group, Luna also watched as Andy and Tonks who were on the platform loosened their wands in their holsters.

Luna could hear Molly calling over her children. Bill purposely ignored her and walked towards Dora, Percy was about to head over to Molly when Arthur motioned him to join him and Amelia.

The twins laughed with delight that the head of the DMLE was questioning Percy.

Percy took the rat out from where he had it and Amelia had her wand pointing at it when the scene exploded into action.

Peter transformed back into his human form. He flattened Percy who was still holding him and caused Amelia to take a step back. He followed her back and shoulder charged her causing her to spin round to keep her balance. Unfortunately, for Amelia as she completed her pirouette and tried to take a new sight on Peter she stumbled over Percy who was still thrashing around on the floor.

Peter produced his wand as he ran; firing stunning spells at the auror in front of him. The auror easily shielded himself from Peters weak efforts. The second auror sighted across the platform and fired a stunning spell just as Peter retransformed himself back into a rat.

The spell passed through the space Peter had occupied and punched through his colleague's shields.

Luna had her wand out and was trying to make her way forward but chaos reigned on the platform parents were trying to drag their children away from the spell fire. She watched as Andy tried to get sight of Peter but Charlie blocked her from seeing him clearly.

Just as Luna was starting to panic, she saw Dora catch Peter with a perfect stunner. The rat was knocked out and came to a stop.

Luna pocketed her wand and joined the curious group who now wanted to see what all the fuss was.

Amelia strode across the platform. Pausing to envigorate her stunned auror.

"Miss Tonks that was most excellently done. If you are considering a career in law enforcement I can tell you now the application will be looked on favourably."

"Thank you Madam Bones but who was that I just stunned?"

"That Miss Tonks was Order of Merlin recipient, the deceased Peter Pettigrew."

Luna stepped back and watched as Amelia arranged for Peter to be taken into custody. Other aurors appeared on the platform the Weasley's where escorted off as where Dora and Andy.

Luna decided she had seen enough, it would now be time for paperwork and interviews, and other bits of bureaucracy with which all law enforcement officials like to fill their time.

Luna apperated to her home with a spring in her step her relief that Peter was caught now gave way to giddiness.

She hadn't had time to sit down before Harry called through the floo.

"Ted has been called to the DMLE can I come through?"

After Harry came through Luna was able to tell Harry and her parents about Peter's capture. After reassuring Harry that Dora and Andy where fine and in no trouble he relaxed.

"So Harry when do you start your new school?"

"There's a Baker day Monday so I start on the Tuesday. We have to wear uniforms there, green jumpers with little badges of Otters on them."

"Are you looking forward to it" asked Selene.

"I wasn't to start with but Luna was right. The only reason I hated my last school was Dudley was there. Even if I meet a bully in this new school I'll be able to report him without fear of being punished when I get home."

"Remember Harry that although I've taught you to question everything. When it comes to school at your age the teachers like to see the right answer" Xeno explained with a smile "It's only at Newt age that you'll be allowed to do independent study and question the established wisdom."

"Xeno" warned Selene "Stop trying to make Harry a cynic he's only 10 remember"

Luna smiled to herself if there was anyone whose survival rested on questioning the facts as given to them then it was certainly Harry.

So they amused themselves for the afternoon until Andy and Ted asked to come through the floo.

Andy and Dora had spent some time giving statements to the aurors. Madam Bones met with Dora and gave her a letter of recommendation. That would fast track her acceptance into the auror program if she chose to apply.

But Luna wanted to know what had happened to Pettigrew.

Ted told them the details of the afternoon.

He was charged initially with assault both physical and magical. With enough witnesses to confirm this and one of the victims being head of the DMLE and his general unwillingness to answer questions Amelia signed off the order to give him versitium.

As Peter was alive, Amelia had decided to pursue Andy's allegations over the Potter's deaths, his membership of the Deatheaters and infamous confrontation with Sirius.

He was busy confirming all these details when Fudge had entered the room. Apparently the prophet had heard of the firefight on the platform and had asked for confirmation that Pettigrew was alive and had assaulted aurors.

Ted explained that Fudge was horrified over the confession, which he'd caught the back of. However, even he realised that a cover up of an event that was witnessed by that number of people was impossible.

Amelia suggested that they blame it on the previous administration and Fudge left to get ready to spin himself a news conference.

Xeno excused himself on that piece of information quickly grabbing a scroll and parchment on the way out.

Fudge had decided to paint himself as a heroic righter of wrongs and Ted explained that Peter's guilt was guaranteed at his upcoming trial.

The Tonks' left not long after that, it was obvious that Harry needed some time alone to process all this information. The man responsible for his parents' death was now under lock and key. For Harry who had spent most of his life suppressing his emotions he needed time to work out how he felt.

Luna knew exactly how she felt; as the Tonks' had disappeared through the floo she did a little victory dance.

"Yes got you. Let's see how quickly he can come back if we get rid of the only servant with nothing to lose. Got you."

Selene watched and smiled indulgently as Luna did little pirouettes around the kitchen.

"Are you sure you're not nine?"

"You have no idea how scared I was about catching the rat. He was the one who helped bring Voldemort back. Catching him I hope will give us extra years to prepare. But if he got away and went to his master we'd have a war much sooner than we were ready for. So I'm going to dance for a little bit and then plan my next move. First, your ideas on horcruxes have given me hope, now we have caught the rat. Things couldn't be going better. So excuse me while I dance."

Luna was sitting in the Tonks' living room with Andromeda, they where both waiting for Ted to bring Harry home from his first day in school. Andromeda confessed to Luna that even after all this time living entrenched in the muggle world she was still startled by muggle traffic so Ted would be going most of the pickups.

Ted and Harry entered; Luna was startled by how Harry looked now. The potions had done their work and he was almost as tell at ten as she remembered him being at twelve. His glasses rather than the thick plastic framed things that were held together by sticky tape she was used to seeing him in where now discreet wired and looked ready to handle what the world threw at them.

Harry wore his new school uniform black shoes, grey trousers and a bottle green jumper with an otter logo over the heart. The name of the school surrounded the otter. Luna felt the green of the jumper matched his eyes well. The only thing that was unmistakably Harry about him was his hair it never sat down flat.

Andy got up to give him a hug. "So Harry how was your first day at school"

"Yeah it was okay thanks."

Luna laughed "No sorry Harry you'll have to do better than that. What's your teachers name? What where today's lessons? Did you meet anyone you think you'll be friends with?"

"Well alright, my Teachers named Mrs Hopkins she seems nice but stern. The day started much like yours did in the old school. I was called out to the front of the class and introduced to everyone. Then she assigned me a guide to help me settle, you know like Samantha did for you Luna? She was one of the prefects there and teacher said that since she was already ahead she could help me for a couple of days."

"Way to go Harry first day there and already got a girl. Is she good looking?"

Harry turned to look at Ted and relaxed slightly when he could see he was joking. She was very helpful, a little bossy and she got annoyed with me at first because I got her name wrong. I'd never heard anyone called Hermione before."

Everyone turned to look at Luna who had just started choking on her tea.

Once she got her voice to work, again Luna asked. "You just meet a girl called Hermione whose a little bossy?"

Harry nodded.

"Please don't tell me she has brown bushy hair and slightly buck teeth"

"How did you know that?"

"Oh my" Luna sat and giggled to herself. "What are the chances? Although that probably explains the otter."

"Luna what are you talking about?" asked Ted

Luna realised that although both Harry and Andy knew her secret they had never told Ted.

"Ted I have future knowledge and before you get too sceptical Andy's known for months now. She believes me too. Andy I release you from your oath so you can tell Ted later.

Harry I know an older version of Hermione Granger muggle born witch, smartest witch of her generation. Brilliant but scary."

"She's a witch?"

"She is, but I guess even she doesn't know it yet. There will have been a number of unexplainable incidents in her life but until she gets her Hogwarts letter and a personnel visit from a member of staff she won't know herself."

Ted joined in the conversation. "As someone muggle born it came as quite a shock when I was visited by Professor McGonagall. She knocked on the door in clothes that where fifty years out of date and turned my parents and my world upside down. Harry if you get the opportunity to talk to her can you do something for me? Talk to her about the accidental magic you've done, but don't use those words just call it weird stuff or something."

"What are you planning Ted?" Andy asked suspicion in her voice.

"What would be better for a muggle born Andy having someone like Minerva drop in on them or have the news broke to them by a muggle born like me. Besides there are downsides to being a smart muggle born that Minerva might just gloss over."

Luna didn't offer any advice on this subject. Hermione knowing a few months early wouldn't affect much. However a warning from the Tonks' about the problems of blood purity in the world Hermione was about to enter might help her to settle in easier.

Luna remembered Hermione telling her how naïve she'd been on that first day telling everyone without invitation how her parents where dentists and she was muggle born.

While Hermione would never be ashamed of that fact, it would be better to allow people to judge you for yourself and your actions rather than flaunt your difference and never let them see past their prejudice.

Hermione had cringed in embarrassment while telling Luna of that first day. She ranked it right up there with her 'everyone knows the Quibbler is rubbish' statement from fifth year as embarrassing moments of her life.

Still Luna was trying to calculate the odds of Hermione and Harry meeting by chance. It had taken considerable effort for her to find him. Maybe things really where looking up.

September moved on and Harry stayed close to Hermione in school, so much so he was invited to her birthday party. Although the party was held on the weekend following as her birthday fell midweek. Harry told Luna the best part of the party was the shout from the kitchen when Ted broke the news of Hermione's abilities to her parents. A rather startled Dan Granger was seen leaving the kitchen covered in juice that he had spilt over himself.

The following weekend was Luna's birthday. She had a jelly and ice-cream party on the Saturday. Ginny stayed over that night and Luna struggled to stay awake for the slightly more adult themed party the next day where she invited the Tonk's and Harry over for a meal and the chance to just to enjoy their growing friendship.

"So Ted I hear you managed to get Hermione's dad to spit fruit juice across his kitchen" teased Luna.

"No matter how carefully you build up to it, the phrase 'your daughters a witch' is always going to startle some people."

Andy laughed "I think you timed it on purpose. Still we must have struck a chord because they came over the night next night and we showed some of what magic could do. We also warned about some of the downsides of being in the magical community.

Would you believe Hermione borrowed Dora's first year text books so she could get a head start?"

This time Luna laughed, "Same old Hermione, actually anything else would have surprised me. Harry if you want to get her a perfect gift for Christmas may I recommend Hogwarts a History"

Xeno snorted, "You mean Hogwarts a heavily edited and talking only about the good bits of History"

"I don't think they could fit that title on the cover dear."

"Must have been why they went with the shorter one then," said Ted. "Still what would you want them to put in there? Avoid Slytherin house unless you want a career as a dark wizard."

"Hey" said Andy slapping Ted playfully "We didn't all go dark"

"You my dear are the exception that proves the rule. I could name a fair few dark wizards or I could just mention the in-laws."

Harry looked startled "Your families dark"

"Our family, yes Harry some pretend to be respectable and others like my dear Sister would kill you, me, well all of us gathered here as soon as look at us."

Harry looked over to Luna. "She's not exaggerating Harry but not all the family is dark. Ted, how moves the ministry on Sirius?"

"Slowly I'm afraid, even though Peter is alive his confession of intent is still on file. Unless we can get Fudge to intervene personally, it will keep on being slow too. As no one is bribing him, Fudge is waiting to see which way the publicity is blowing before he moves. We need something to get his interest, find something in it for him, or find a way to get public opinion moving and on our side.

"I'm meant to famous aren't I, could Harry Potters get Sirius out?"

**A.N.**

Again trying to find rational reasons for canon events. So Sirius confessed to killing Peter, which he thought he had until he saw his picture with the Weasley family.

I had hoped to keep this story all Luna's pov. However, I had to slip in a little Dumbledore sidepiece. Dumbles believe too much in compassion and second chances to see reality for what it is in my opinion. If I was writing a pure AU he would be a proper manipulative chess master but I have to try and stay true to JKR's character.

"Staying at her Majesty's pleasure" I so wanted to add "and everyone knew she was not easily pleased" but it didn't fit the style of that paragraph.

Horcruxes just don't make sense to me. How do you split your soul evenly seven times?

So you don't die but does that stop the ageing process.

I know I've read someone else's story where the horcrux in Harry's head wasn't big enough to be an anchor. I would give credit if I remembered who.

Radaslab's "30 minutes The Gathering Storm" also influenced my ideas on this subject mostly that of Japanese magic users approaching Horcruxes from a different perspective to European

Kenneth Baker Education Secretary set up compulsory training days for teachers and gave the English Language the new phrase of Baker Day.

Things are going well. Too well. It won't last. But it might take years.

Otterbourne C of E school is used in a fictional context all I know about it is the name and the colour of its uniforms.

When searched for a school for Harry and Hermione to meet I discovered one that had otters prominent in its logo I knew I'd found the school for Hermione to attend..

Questions I'm pondering.

As Harry now lives with a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw whose daughter is Hufflepuff what house will he end up in? Without the Hagrid meeting he will have no strong dislike or affection for any particular house.

The only reason for Harry to be friends with Ron are a chance meeting and his self-esteem was so low he latches on to the first person that was nice to him.

So how will my Harry deal with Ron?

(I am not a Weasley basher generally but there isn't a lot of common ground between them.)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: This is a work of Fan Fiction set within the Harry Potter universe. As such all Characters and Locations belong to J.K. Rowling and this work is not being produced for commercial gain.

9

The room paused to consider Harry's suggestion.

"That would work, but I'm not certain about all the repercussions," Ted said finally.

"It does appeal to me," said Andy. "The 'boy-who-lived' has an enormous potential in society to influence people."

"Of course my devious Slytherin likes it," Ted smiled at Andy." But we have to consider what this will mean for Harry and us. Once he raises his head above the parapet, we will get shots taken at us"

"Dumbledore will be all over us the second Harry appears," said Luna. "I can't believe the old goat has been so quiet up to now. Has anyone heard what he is up to?"

"He's not quiet," laughed Ted, "just misdirected. He's had the Wizengamot clerks run off their feet trying to find paperwork for Harry's adoption. Which, as of yet, we haven't filed. Muggle adoption law gives us all the rights we need for the time being."

Xeno joined in. "Sources have told me he's been putting pressure on Arthur to conduct a search on Malfoy manner. I assume that might be related."

Andy laughed, saying**,** "Close, but the wrong sister." Noting Harry's confused look, Andy turned to him. "Okay, Harry. I come from an ancient, noble, and arrogant pureblood family. My immediate family includes two sisters. Bellatrix and Narcissa. Bella is stark raving mad and a cheerful murder. When you get to school next year, you will meet a boy named Neville. He was practically orphaned by Bella.

Narcissa is married to Lucius Malfoy, and he's as bad as Bella, but he covers everything he does with a mask of respectability. They have a son Draco who will be in your school year. He is as close to you as Nymphadora is, but if he takes after his family, he will deny you are related. I was cast out of my family for dating Ted. I was disowned formally as a wedding present. The family takes blood purity very seriously, the majority supported Voldemort if not joined him outright.

That's who we are related to, but family are those you chose to love, which for me that means Ted, Nymphy, and now you."

Harry went from thoughtful to happy as Andy finished.

Selene spoke up. "So let's analyse this. If Harry was to give an interview, how would we do it?"

Xeno, sitting next to her, said, "Well, I think I know a publisher who would be willing to give Harry a fair hearing. To be honest, every paper and magazine would, but I understand the need for discretion here."

"Alright, so Harry's interview appears in the Quibbler. What can we expect?" Selene asked the room.

"Albus Dumbledore on our doorstep before the morning is out," said Luna.

Selene turned to Luna, as she asked. "How bad would that be?"

"Well I don't trust him; the man is dangerously naïve and believes that only he can lead the way." Luna answered.

"Even if he finds out Harry is with us," Ted added**,** "there's not much he can do. The social workers check on Harry's home life to see how he's settling, and Amelia already knows we have him, but hasn't put anything in writing."

"Oh fantastic," said Luna, "we tell Dumbles that since a member of the Order of the Phoenix betrayed Harry's parents, we can't trust him with knowing it."

"Alright," said Selene, "We can deal with Albus, but will Harry giving an interview actually get Sirius out?"

"Trust me, my dear," Xeno answered, "I don't do it often but I can pitch a piece to get public sympathy on our side. 'The orphan boy-who-lived, left in a muggle home and who just wants to be reunited with his unjustly incarcerated godfather.'"

"My godfather? Sirius is my godfather?" Harry blurted out.

The adults all looked at each other, Andy finally breaking the silence. "Umm, that's why we going through the effort to accomplish this**.** I'm sorry, Harry, I thought you knew."

"If he gets out, will I still live with you?" worry began to creep into Harry's voice.

"Harry, if we can get him out I imagine he'll spend some time in hospital first. Then I was planning to invite him to stay with us for a while. He is also family, after all." Andy reached out and took his hand as she spoke.

Harry smiled, and looked relieved; Luna remembered when Harry's fondest wish was to be with Sirius, but now he feared leaving the Tonks'. A happy home life was doing wonders for him, and while Sirius could be a fun presence in his life, Luna felt he was too unstable to be Harry's guardian.

Plans were made for the detail of the article, with promises Ted and Andy would get draft copies to check over before it went to print.

All too soon, it was time for the Tonks' to go. They needed to head home early**, **as it was a school day for Harry tomorrow. After they left**,** Xeno headed off for a quill and parchment to jot down ideas and directions for his forthcoming piece.

Selene and Luna where left sitting together at the table.

"So how was your birthday?"

"Confusing, I'm ten now or possibly twenty-eight. I poured myself a glass of wine earlier and stopped after a sip; my body couldn't handle it."

"I noticed. I was going to warn you, but felt it was your choice to make. How was the sleep over?"

"Exhausting. I didn't think Ginny was ever going to go to sleep. It was also quite disturbing to hear the full extent of Ginny's crush on the 'boy-who-lived.' I mean, she calls him Harry Potter, but she's never even met him, and it's not the Harry I know. So I don't really know who her crush is on.

I worry about Harry's future relationships, it took a lot of darkness for Ginny to grow, Harry's best friend was Ron in school but that Harry is fading fast and he'll be a different boy by the time he goes to Hogwarts. He's surrounded by Adults, including me. The person of his age he's closest too is Hermione, and she's not exactly childish. He does need someone to be a kid with, and play exploding snap and gobstones with."

"So he has different friends this time round. Does Ron have some special ability that saves Harry's life? Does Voldemort challenge them to a pie-eating contest, to the death? Don't worry too much about it Luna."

"Mum, I know Ron has rubbish table manners, but he's not that one dimensional. Harry had two best friends; one was pushy and an obsessive workaholic, the other was Ron. Ron was the person that Harry could kick back with and act his age. They had ups and downs; it took a long time for Ron to get over his insecurities. But when it was a life or death matter, Ron always had Harry's back. They fought a troll while still eleven, and broke into Gringotts at seventeen. Ron suffers from arachnophobia, and yet he still followed Harry into the forbidden forest to see a nest of Acromantula.

He was the last of us to really grow up, but to see the amount of darkness Ron did and still be able to act like a child, well you can see that as strength."

"Okay, Luna, I accept there is more to him than I'm seeing."

Luna and Selene headed off to bed soon after that. The next day saw both Ted and Andy visit to see how Xeno's article was going. When they were all happy with it, Luna volunteered to be the one who would show it to Harry.

Luna and Andy where sitting and waiting for Harry to come home. "Andy, I can't thank you enough for taking Harry in. He's such a changed child from where he was only a couple of months ago."

"I remember when I first saw him for that check up, you could see the distrust and caution in him. Now when he looks at us, his eyes are unguarded. But you should see him with strangers; the caution is there, and I can see him calculating and judging people. He has a base of security now, and he's fiercely protective of it. He's smart too; he soaks up information like a sponge. You wouldn't believe some of the questions he asks in the evenings. He intuitively jumps to conclusions that scare the life out of me.

Ted and I chat about our day over dinner. Ted's a cynic, but then again we live in a society where justice is bought, so it's justified. Between Ted's cynicism, my family history, and Xeno's distrust of any print based medium, well, Harry is developing an interesting mind. If it wasn't for the blood politics, I would say he is the perfect Slytherin. At home, loving and happy, once in public, guarded and calculating.

Luna**, **if I may ask you one thing about the future: you're not trying to make Harry into a weapon are you?"

Luna laughed. "No Andy, that is one of my fears about Albus; that his plans are for Harry to be a weapon. My first concern was getting Harry from the Dursley's. I wanted him happy. The others changes to his personality, I couldn't predict. In the future, I will tell you this, Voldemort is not dead and is trying to come back. If he succeeds, Harry is a target, for various reasons. There is a prophecy which Voldemort believes... The short version says that it comes down to Harry or him. So, yes, later in life, I will push Harry into learning defence and duelling. But I want Harry, and for that matter as many others as I can, to survive.

I want Harry to have as full a life as possible, and I want to save as many lives as possible. I have you and mum calling me on my actions. I don't want to be a manipulator, but there is so much stuff to worry about.

A non life-threatening example: Neville falls off his broomstick and breaks his wrist. He drops something, which Draco picks up and flies off with. Harry gives chase and is spotted by McGonagall, and she makes Harry the youngest seeker in something like a hundred years.

So do I make changes so Nev doesn't break his wrist? But then Harry doesn't learn that he can out fly just about anything. Mind you, it's all moot if he doesn't end up in Gryffindor, because I've affected his personality.

I'm driving myself mad, Andy, second guessing myself, and that's just over small things. I know who lives and dies, who marries whom, and anything I do might have repercussions I can't predict. Harry meeting Hermione this year,for example:who would have guessed it? I couldn't plan that, but they will be good for each other."

"Do you do this every time your mum asks you a question too? Luna, let's be honest, you are a manipulator, but I do believe you have only good intentions.

I think that unless it's life or death situation, you let things run as normal.

Give Harry the tools to cope, if you know something that will help tell him, but trust him."

Any further discussion halted by Harry banging in through the front door.

"Andy, I'm home, and I've brought Hermione with me!"

Luna got up to hug Harry, "Hi Harry, I've brought the article."

She noticed Hermione's eyes tighten as she gave Harry a hug. "Hello Hermione, I'm Luna Lovegood, witch and a friend of Harry's."

Luna had to fight the urge to pull her best friend into a hug. While their initial relationship had been cool at first, Luna had become Hermione's closest friend and confidante, whenever she needed someone to talk over relationship issues with. Still, it was nice to see Hermione sober and not crying.

Hermione recovered herself instantly.

"Hello Luna, I'm Hermione. I'm guessing that Harry told you that I'm a witch too, although I've only just found out. Will you be coming to Hogwarts?

I've got so many questions; there's a whole new world to discover! The textbooks I've borrowed are fantastic! I just wish that I had a wand so I could start practicing right away. But I have seen that there are laws against underage magic. There is just so much to try to understand. You are so lucky, Luna, you grew up with all this; oh, I'm going to be so behind when I get to school. What if I say the wrong thing on the first day? And there are so many customs to learn! Do you know turning down an offer of a handshake is almost as bad as declaring a formal challenge to a duel? Of course you know. That's why I've come to see Mrs. Tonks. They have been ever so helpful."

Harry laughed. "Breath Hermione, you need to relax. I'm sure you won't be the only Muggle-born. You're further ahead than me, and I'm technically from wizard parents."

"She's further ahead than Dora was when she got on the train," agreed Andy. "So what is bothering you today?"

"I was reading a book on Hogwarts and I don't understand the Houses. The book seemed to say that Slytherin was a dark house. How could Albus Dumbledore allow a dark house in his school?"

"Ah a simple one. A Gryffindor wrote that book, and he was biased." Andy laughed as she answered Hermione's question. "All the houses have positive and negatives about them. I was in Slytherin, Ted was in Ravenclaw, and our daughter is in Hufflepuff. Slytherin is the house of the ambitious; we use all our skills and all advantages to get what we want. Now that could be described as cunning, sneaky, and backstabbing.

We are currently in the middle of a plot to get my cousin a retrial, as the man he was accused of murdering was found alive. We are using everything we can to do this, including Harry's fame. It's very Slytherin, but it is, I believe, for a noble cause and not in the slightest bit dark.

Now Slytherin house's reputation is certainly hindered by the fact that you-know-who was a member, as was most of his inner circle. Most of them at the same time as me. Being a member of that house doesn't guarantee anything.

Now Gryffindor is the house of the brave and noble. Sounds good, doesn't it? However, it is also the house of the reckless, foolhardy, and those who rush in with no plan, no strategy, and no thought of how they want to achieve their objective. Harry's parents where Gryffindor, as was my cousin who we are trying to get free.

Ravenclaw house place intellect as their highest priority. Now, there could be nothing wrong with that, right? But if you're a member of that house with slightly unorthodox views, you'll find out how bad it to be bullied by someone who has put a bit of thought into it.

Hufflepuff is the house that values hard work and teamwork. It is the house of cooperation and friendship. And it's widely regard as the house of the duffers who aren't brave, ambitious, or clever enough to go elsewhere.

If it were up to me, Hermione, I'd put you in Ravenclaw, Harry in Slytherin, although that would be a bad idea, and Luna... Luna could go anywhere.

The houses all have rivalries too. I had some comments because I dated a Ravenclaw; it would have been outright war if Ted had been in Gryffindor. The Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry has been in place since the time of the founders; they'll never say anything good about each other.

Does that answer your question?"

Luna watched as Hermione processed the information, but it was Harry who asked a question first. "Why would it be bad thing for me to go to Slytherin?"

"Politics, Harry. As I said, when I was there, a number of Slytherins become followers of you-know-who. Well, at least four of their children will be starting at the same time as you. Despite what I said about it being the house of ambition, it has become the house of blood purity. The boy widely regarded as being the defeater of you-know-who would not be welcome there."

Luna decided she couldn't take it anymore. "Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort! Come on Andy! It's just a name, and a made up one at that." It was quite fun to see the shock on both Hermione and Andy's faces. Although Hermione's shock was probably just because of Luna's rudeness.

Luna left Andy to Hermione's questioning after that, and sat with Harry as he read the proof copy of the Quibbler article.

"Well, you can tell your dad that it's accurate and I hate it, but he can print it if Andy and Ted approve it. I'm only doing this because I hope to get one of my dad's friends out of prison."

"I know, Harry. Still, as press articles go, that is the best you can expect to be treated." Luna sympathised.

"Future knowledge or Lovegood cynicism?" he asked with a chuckle.

"The Lovegood's are realists, Ted is the cynic. Anyway, Dad says you can expect to see this in print early next week. He'll have to give people advance notice of the change of dates for the next issue. Ted also wants some time to prepare in case they give Sirius an immediate retrial."

The following week was a week of preparation; The Tonks' and Harry visited the Lovegood's to watch editions of the Quibbler coming off the press. Ted spent all his time preparing Sirius' defence. He was quietly confident; the only thing that stood in Sirius way was public opinion. Luna was confident that her dad had judged the article just right.

Complimentary copies where being sent to the Minister of Magic, the Chief Warlock, and the head of the DMLE. They had decided to keep Amelia out of the loop so, that when Fudge stormed into her office she wouldn't have to tax her acting skills.

Andy had decided to take Harry out of school on the day of publication, and Luna had decided to tag along with them. Andy conceded the point that they should go Muggle for the day, so they planned to visit Thorpe Park.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in the great hall for breakfast when an unfamiliar post owl flew to him. This was most unusual; the wards of the castle normally redirected any post for him, where it was collected by one of the senior elves. Otherwise, as Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, he would be snowed under by post every morning.

He could see it was a paper rather than a letter, but still wandlessly and nonverbally cast detection charms over it. He detected the rune work put into the paper which ensured it came straight to him, and nodded slightly to whoever had managed that; the acknowledgement of one master to another. Still, apart from that, the paper was free from any other spells. He took it from the owl which disappeared before he could offer it any food or pay for the paper. Still curious about this paper, he didn't ponder the owls' strange behaviour. Obviously, as someone had gone to a lot of effort to get this paper to him**, **he decided that he had better see what it was about...

"Albus? Albus are you alright?" McGonagall's voicefinally cut through the daze that he found himself in after reading the article.

"I'm dreadfully sorry Professor; I've just had some news. Time will tell whether it is good or bad. It is most certainly momentous. I make no claims to be a seer, but I best head to London before Minister Fudge summons me. I leave Hogwarts in your capable hands for the day, Professor."

McGonagall watched him leave with a bemused expression, wondering what had distracted him so badly. She picked up the copy of the Quibbler, and Professor Sprout, who was sitting next to her, was surprised to hear her swear and then mutter, "I warned him. I did warn him."

ooooo000000000oooooo

Ginny Weasley came downstairs to find her mum crying over a morning paper. She noticed it was the one Luna's dad wrote, which they only bought it out of loyalty to their neighbours. As she rushed over to her mum, she heard her mutter "that poor boy" repeatedly.

ooooo0000000oooooo

The scene was repeated across Britain, in many different households. There where stampedes into Flourish and Blots once it was known they held copies of the paper. Everyone wanted to read about Harry Potter, and even more so, everyone liked a scandal. The editor of the Prophet was preparing tomorrow's edition. He was trying to decide whether to call for sackings, or demand Black's freedom as his banner headline. He could smell a change in the air, and he was going to ride it.

Luna and Harry where oblivious to all this, and spent the day having fun. It was the first time Luna had been to a theme park where she had to check the height restrictions; it was Harry's first time ever, as well as Andy's. Luna watched as Harry persuaded and bullied Andy on to some of the more gentle rides. She was hating it, but was doing it for Harry.

Luna again marvelled at the change in Harry; now that he was living with an authority figure who allowed herself to be persuaded, he was coming even more out of his shell, and his personality was becoming even more pronounced.

She wondered what Albus would make of this Harry when they meet. Harry currently refused to take anything at face value, and was starting to question authority figures to their faces. This would be a very interesting time for them both. Now, she would have to get Hermione to meet her dad and listen to his lecture on how to read. That would really be throwing the cat among the pigeons.

The day was drawing to a close and Andy had left them at a table in McDonalds. Harry was eating with relish, and Luna was prodding her burger to see if it was going to do anything interesting.

When Andy returned five minutes later, she said, "It's safe to head home, now. Ted has left me a note there, but we seem to be safe from anyone working out the clues in the article. Home is still safe."

After Harry had finished eating, and Luna had finished dissecting the burger and failed to identify the components, they headed out to the alley behind the restaurant and apparated back to the Tonks' residence.

Ted's note was brief:

Things are going well, but are moving fast. Don't know when I'll be home.

Andy muttered in exasperation about husbands who can communicate, but not say anything useful.

Luna tried to floo home but she was unable to get through. Instead, she called The Weasley's and asked to come through to them.

Luna found a rather frosty atmosphere when she got there. Ginny had spent the day in a mixture tears one moment, and depression the next. Luna found herself taken by the elbow and dragged off to Ginny's bedroom.

"How could you? You let me tell you all my stupid fantasy's about the boy-who-lived, and his dream mansion, and how he would take me away from all this and buy me new clothes and pretty dresses. Yet your dad was writing this and meeting him!

Have you met him? Is this all true? About the muggles who made him live in a cupboard, about how he's had even less than me?" she demanded.

"I didn't know. My dad was writing this at the time Ginny, but yes, from what my dad has told me, every word of it is true. In fact, I overheard dad telling my mum that he didn't dare print it all." Luna hoped that Ginny wouldn't notice that she had failed to answer about meeting Harry.

Tears over took Ginny again.

"That poor boy, I had hoped he would take care of me, but I'll need to take care of him."

Luna should have known that Ginny's crush would not be so easily deflected. She excused herself and headed down stairs to find that Arthur was home.

"Hello Luna, Xeno has really stirred things up today, and make no mistake. Emergency sessions with the whole Wizengamot; with the number of people running round and shouting at each other, you'd have thought the place was on fire! Both Albus Dumbledore and Fudge where just trying to ride things out, though you'd never be able to tell it from looking at Albus.

Madam Bones had to send Aurors to your house because of the number of people apparating in. They've locked down the floo; I guess that's why you're here?"

Luna was a little startled by all this; the plan had been to get Sirius out of prison, not to overturn the whole Fudge administration. Though that might not be a bad thing, depending on who took over. Harry's image as the saviour of the Wizarding world was still untainted at this point in time. It was only later, when people saw he didn't quite fit their image of a prince, that he started to lose his shine.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley. Is there any way you can apperate me home, or would I be better off walking?"

"Well, as I came home early—no work was going to get done today, I'll take you side along. We'll aim for the path next to the stream, just in case wards have been put up. It's also far enough away that any aurors there won't get too jumpy with us popping in."

Luna tried to keep her amusement to herself as Arthur talked through the process of side along apparition.

As they made their through the trees, just for once she wished the path went straight to her house.

As they approached the house, a man came into sight.

"The Lovegood house is private property, and they are not receiving visitors today," he said.

"Hello Dawlish," Arthur waved cheerily, "I think they'll receive this one, it's Xeno's daughter"

"Well, Arthur, as it's you, I'll believe you, but if I find you're sneaking someone pollyjuiced in, well, I know where your office is."

"No worries John, do you want to take her the rest of the way, or shall I?" Arthur's cheer was not deflected.

"You take her to the door, but I advise you to knock and not just walk in." Dawlish instructed.

Arthur escorted Luna the rest of the way. After knocking, Luna let herself in to find her frazzled looking parents.

"Days like today, Luna, I remember why I avoid news stories. And Luna, you where wrong. It took until midmorning for Albus to come to visit. He insisted, that for security to be put in place, he had to know Harry's location. I pointed out to him that all of the organisations that he was head of: Wizengamot, school, and Order of the Phoenix, had Death Eaters amongst their ranks. Therefore, he was considered a security risk.

That stopped his eyes twinkling, let me tell you.

Thankfully Amelia turned up after that, and he left, but I think he'll try again."

"What's the news on Sirius? Is there going to be a trial?"

"Sirius is currently in St Mungos under auror guard. As for a trial, I don't know, but if he'd been convicted he'd get a retrial, that's for certain. But as he was never charged with anything, and as Peter has confessed to everything, that he might be charged with, I don't know. My guess would be a formal hearing to declare his innocence, and give him legal rights as a Lord of an ancient family.

"Arthur hinted that Fudge may go over with this; what are the chances?" Luna asked.

"That will depend on what the Prophet pushes for tomorrow. I can see all the blame being pushed onto Bagnold and Crouch, but if the Prophet sees the link between Fudge knowing Peter was guilty last month and not doing anything about it till this one, then he may end up falling."

"I didn't think this one through." Luna admitted. "Who would take over if Fudge goes now?"

"You'd have to look at the department heads, and see which one are furthest from the scandal. Amelia could run, but I don't think she'd want to. Scrimounger, head of the aurors, has the ambition. I don't know who the purebloods would get behind. Someone easy to control, I'd guess."

Luna retired to her room to work out possibilities. Maybe it wouldn't matter who was minister. If they stopped Voldemort from returning, even Fudge was a capable administrator. Future knowledge didn't help in the slightest if unexpected things kept happening.

She settled into an uneasy sleep dreaming of Horcruxes and snake-like men.

The next morning, they where visited by ministry officials who wanted a list of address' that they would allow floo calls and visits from.

Not long after that, Andy's face appeared in the flames.

"I've persuaded Harry to go to school this morning, but I get the feeling that neither Ted nor I will be here when he gets home. Selene, could you and Luna be waiting for him after school?"

When Harry arrived home, Luna and Selene greeted him.

"Have you heard Sirius is out? It's fantastic news." He all but shouted in his excitement. "Ted is convinced he'll be set free with no problems."

"Yes, Harry, we've heard he's in hospital at the moment. I don't think you'll be seeing him for a while." Selene tried to dampen his enthusiasm.

"I've had an idea about that. If Andy and Ted agree of course." There was a gleam in his eye as he spoke to them.

Later that evening, Harry and Xeno apparated into St Mungos. They breezed through reception, Harry taking the lead and Xeno whispering directions to him so he didn't slow down.

The auror on guard was startled as Harry and Xeno walked into the secure ward.

"Who are you? This is a secure area." She demanded.

As she reached for his wand, Xeno snapped a photo.

"That'll be a great shot: Aurors stopping Harry Potter from seeing his godfather."

This caused enough confusion for Harry to keep on walking, as the auror turned to Xeno."Harry Potter?"

A rather pale and drawn head looked up from the bed.

"Harry?"

A.N.

While not a fan of canon pairings I'm not trying to bash individuals here.

I will comment again I have no pairings in mind as I write. This piece is written organically I have only the loosest plot in mind. I have created my personalities put them into situations and see where they lead me.

I am as frequently surprised as the reader.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

Chapter 10

Luna sat in amazement as Harry told her of his first meeting with Sirius.

"So are you telling me all it took to get past ministry security was some bluster and a camera?"

"I hope I never have to trust my security to the ministry, it was rubbish. Meeting Sirius was strange he only calling me Harry a couple of times, it was mostly pup and on a couple of occasions James."

"Harry he was kept in the high security section of Azkaban, dementors drive most people insane, it will take him some time to be completely rational."

Andy laughed, "Sirius Black might be many things but completely rational will never be on the list. He is going to be back to normal, physically in a week or two, mentally it will take longer, but he will get there. Harry I don't want you visiting Sirius again in the hospital; we got away with it this time because no one was expecting it. People's guard will be raised now; I'm surprised your photo isn't all over the Prophet as it is. Our top priority now is keeping you safe and the easiest way to do that is to keep you out of public eye. We've raised our heads above the parapet, we've got most of what we want, and we need the dust to settle for a while. They are many groups who want to get to you. Albus has an agenda that involves you, ask Luna about that one. But there is no end of political figures that would pay a lot of galleons just to be seen shaking your hand. You could stabilise Fudges administration, or bring it down with one misplaced comment at the moment. As much as I hate it I'm going to have to teach you politics.

"I understand Andy; I knew when I did the interview that things wouldn't be the same, it's just I guess no matter how many times you or Luna told me I never really believed I was famous. But I saw it today it was the way people looked at me it was as if Prince William walked into the room. It was scary but if that's how people are going to treat me I guess you'll have to teach me how to deal with it."

"I think you can invite Hermione over for the lessons too, that girl has so many questions that she wants answers too it might dampen her curiosity. "

"Andy an agumenti to the face wouldn't dampen Hermione's curiosity. Speaking of invites Harry will you tell her she can visit The Rookery whenever you come over. I can't decide who I want her to meet more my mum or my dad."

"Is this one of those future things?"

"Not really it's just I know how she reacts to most things but meeting my parents will certainly take her out of her comfort zone. She's far too trusting of authority figures it will be fun to let her meet newspaper publisher and member of the establishment Xeno Lovegood."

"I suppose he doesn't quite fit the mould."

That following weekend Harry and Hermione flooed to the Lovegood house. Luna watched as Hermione greeted her mother politely then waited thirty seconds for the barrage of questions. It was early October but the day was still mild enough for Harry and Luna, to go walking in the woods.

"Is it ok going off and leaving Hermione?

"As much as I'd like to watch the sideshow of my mum and Hermione, we would both get bored listening to them. They think far too much alike, Hermione will be questioning her about every single charm and spell in the kitchen, and my mum will enjoy explaining things to her.

How are you dealing with everything?"

"Not too bad, Dora sent me a copy of the Quibbler to autograph, so I know she will wind me up went we meet. Andy and Ted have told me the magical world is off limits for the time being.

So no more visits to see Sirius, no quidditch games and defiantly no visits to Diagon Ally or Hogsmede.

They think if I bump into a reporter they could put words into my mouth and change the face of civilisation, as we know it. Well something like that anyway. "

Luna and Harry shared the joke.

"It does freak me out though that just because of something I can't remember and had no control over I'm famous and my opinions count. Did you know that giving the interview would cause all that chaos? Ted told me that Fudge was lucky to last the week, and Dumbledore has been weakened too.

We've been getting the prophet and Andy has been explaining the unwritten story to me. Halfway through the week the tone changed, they stop pursuing Fudge and the emphasis became blaming Crouch and calling for immediate freedom for Sirius. She tells me that someone either scared off or paid of the paper.

"No Harry, I didn't think through the consequences of this one, but we all talked it over and none of us did, and a room with my parents and the Tonks' should of realised that this would have a bigger effect than we did. Ask Andy what she thinks of this as an idea that you write to the prophet thanking the public for the overwhelming support, but saying that it wasn't your intention to blame anyone just see justice for your godfather.

She might veto the idea in favour of keeping a low profile."

They meandered back to the house, in search of Hermione and food. While at Lunch Xeno and Hermione had a discussion on primary and secondary sources and author bias. It was clear that Hermione was having trouble seeing his point of view but didn't like arguing with an adult.

They headed up to the living room after Lunch. Harry and Luna watched Hermione like a parcel that turns up unexpectedly and ticks.

"Does he really believe that? That books can't be trusted. "

Luna smiled to herself. "Hermione of course books can't be trusted. Mein Kampf is not a good book to read if you want ideas on racial tolerance, not everyone agrees with the works of Marx and Engels. The Bible, The Quran and the Bhagavad Gita have some differences of opinion making it hard to believe in all three simultaneously. Believers in one don't believe in the other two.

I can find you books that express the opinion that you as a firstgen magic user should not be allowed to join our society. Although they wouldn't use that term some wouldn't even call you muggleborn.

So books can be as trusted as much as the people who wrote them. That means some, not at all.

I mean I've been told Hitler was a reasonable painter but look what happened when he moved into politics.

People, even leaders are good and bad. Churchill was a great wartime leader, but if it were up to him, women wouldn't have the vote and look at his record when he was Home Secretary and there was a strike on. However, he is only really remembered now for his resistance in the war.

The magical world is the same we have leaders remembered for one good thing they did and everything else is forgotten.

People are fallible, books are written by people.

"But how do you know which ones can be trusted and which can't be?

"You can never be certain, facts can of course be checked, but sometimes text books simplify things that while ok on one level could be deadly on another.

What is the speed of gravity Hermione?"

"We did this in science last year its ten metres per second squared."

"That is what you'd be taught in junior school. And also in secondary school until you took your GCSE's if you went on to 'A level' physics you would find out it's 9.8m per second per second. It was simplified to make the maths easy to work out, and until you get to the higher level you don't need to know it."

Luna watched Hermione wrestle with this new information, still it was better to bring a little uncertainty to her world now rather than to let her get into patterns of believing all official information she would receive.

"I'm going to play a little game Hermione, I will describe a creature, and you have to guess if I'm making it up or if it's real or if there is still no evidence either way."

Luna used all her expertise in cryptozoology to describe animals that Hermione would never have heard of, once she got over the idea that dragons, unicorns, and werewolves all existed Luna started to enjoy herself and slipped in a description of nargles and wrackspurts.

"An hour ago I'd have been certain they didn't exist but then I was certain that books could be trusted and unicorns where just story book creatures. I suppose they could exist but it doesn't feel right believing in them with no evidence."

Luna did a little victory dance on the inside but sat still on the outside, she had never been able to get Hermione in her old life to be that accepting.

"But you didn't just dismiss them out of hand; there is no evidence for either in fact one I made up, but the other is a possibility and I still think they exist even if Daddy has doubts."

"How do you know all this Luna? Teachers keep telling me I'm bright, and my dad boasts I'm a genius but your running rings round me here."

"Don't worry Hermione you are clever you kept up with my mum this morning, but I've had an unusual upbringing, both my parents are academics they pursue knowledge, it's rubbed off on me I guess."

Harry and Hermione flooed back to the Tonks' not long after that Luna followed them through. Once Hermione had departed, Harry confronted her.

"Where you just trying to confuse Hermione or was there a point to all that?"

"Harry there are some things about you I love. This is one of them, your fierce protectiveness of your friends. Yes there was a point to all that, Hermione is a borderline genius but she spends too many years just doing rote learning and taking things at face value. There is too much prejudice in the world for Hermione just to believe things without question. Books are a good starting point but they should only be a springboard for learning. Hermione became my best friend in my old life, much more than you where. I would never set out to hurt her, and I hope to keep her from as much hurt as I can, although that won't be possible without giving her a personality change."

"What do you mean?"

"Hermione is a muggleborn who is bright, clever, and driven to push her way forward. She wants to be the best, there is however some in society that will treat her as nothing more than a talking dog. An aberration from how they know the world to be. A muggleborn doing better than they do? Not possible."

"If that's how society thinks then it needs to change."

Luna was startled from Harry's statement by Ted applauding as he walked into the room. "Bravo Harry, a noble cause, but one that will take you your whole life and possibly the lives of your children unless you find a way of accelerating changes. Luna is right about the prejudice Hermione will face because I live with it every day. I attempt to make society a little more just and fair but it's not easy in a world where privilege rules. By the way, ask Andy for the real meaning of privilege when you have time. This wasn't what I came to find you for. Sirius's hearing has been set for next week. It will not be a trial but more a formal acquittal as there are no known crimes to charge him with, that Peter hasn't already confessed to.

I was with him today and I can tell you his mind is getting sharp again, he has a few things planned for that meeting which he should get away with. One of them will make your life a little easier too."

"What is it?"

"Nothing bad and it should give us a little more misdirection as to where you are living."

"I know that face you're not going to tell me, I can still pester Andy into telling me."

"Too much pestering and you'll have her move back onto full shifts. Sirius hopes to take full rights again including rights as your godfather. This will make him your magical guardian, while we will still be your legal and physical guardians. All those people trying to find you after your journalistic foray will be completely misdirected as to where to look.

The drawback will be that he won't be able to live here, but with all the means of travel available to him I doubt he will be away from here much."

The next week dragged for Harry, Luna caught him staring off into space when they were together, most of the conversations they had that week were of the 'what if' type as Harry played over different things that could go wrong. Luna could not promise anything as this was new ground for her so she spent her time distracting him.

ooo000ooo

The floo flared green causing everyone in the room to jump and stop all conversation. Ted stepped out with a slightly strained expression on his face.

"Everything went well then Ted, you know that poker face of yours doesn't work on me. So where is he? You haven't unleashed him on society by himself."

The floo flared green again and out stepped Sirius, he was dressed in formal robes and had a haughty expression on his face, but a light in his eyes that mitigated his expression.

"Hello Andromeda, thank you for allowing me entrance to this house"

"Hello yourself Sirius, why so formal?"

"Come now Andromeda, surely you have a better greeting than that for your lord"

A slightly pained expression crossed Andy's face, "We might be family but you are not my lord, your father formally disowned me for marrying Ted. I thought you knew that Sirius."

"Old business Andromeda, new business was carried out today on the floor of the Wizengamot. Andromeda Tonks nee Black was formally reinstated as a member of the Black family. The House of Tonks where adopted as a protected family by Lord Black, oh and I cast out Bella from the family. I'd have done Cissy too but Ted advised against going that far."

Habits drummed into Andy from her childhood took over as she sank to her knees. "My Lord, welcome to my home you do me honour by your presence"

"Stand up Andy you look silly on your knees. Come on, this old dog wants a hug."

Luna nudged Harry whose mouth was hanging open at the interplay between the two. As Sirius gave Andy a hug he turned to Ted, "See I told you she'd be pleased."

He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Harry. "Hello Pup, good to see you when my heads on right."

"Hello Sirius, good to see you out of bed."

"Harry we are going to have fun together, Andy and Ted are good people and I feel I owe them a life dept for taking you in, but they are far too serious for my liking. I owe you a lot of fun. Here I am out of prison and your too big to ride my back anymore, I used to love hearing you giggle as your dad put you on unccy pafots back."

Harry's eyes started to mist over, as much as the Lovegood's and the Tonks' had tried to help him connect with his parents here was someone who knew them intimately.

"Unncy pafot?" asked Harry

"You went even two at the time, my memory is a little time locked at the moment, finding it hard to get over the idea you are grown up. I bet you don't even remember my party trick." On saying that Sirius turned himself into a large black dog.

Ted swore quietly at the back of the room, Harry initially jumped back in shock than stepped forward to stroke the dog in front of him.

Luna giggled she had known of Sirius' abilities but had never seen the transformation. Sirius strolled over to Luna and as she leaned towards him, he licked her face.

"No bad dog." Taking two fingers, she smacked his nose.

"Ow why'd you do that it hurt". Said Sirius turning back.

"I find letting strange old men lick my face a little creepy."

"What do you mean old I'm only thirty-one."

"Yes and I'm ten" or twenty-eight Luna thought to herself and he is good looking.

"Oh Merlin" muttered Sirius. "I'm sorry Luna, it is Luna? I spent so much time in the dog form in prison I've started reacting as an animal would.

I owe you a debt of gratitude it was your family that discovered the Rat and started the ball rolling. I now owe you a formal apology too.

Miss Lovegood if the House of Black can do anything for you ask and I shall do my best to answer your request."

The floo flared green again and Xeno stepped out.

"Greetings Lord Black you do like to leave chaos in your wake don't you?"

"Daddy" interrupted Luna, "I've just got us a boon from a noble house, isn't that good"

"I was just about to ask how it was you spotted the rat?"

"My dear Lord Black, what sort of zoologist would I be if I couldn't tell that my nearest neighbour had a disguised animagus living with them?"

"Yes I suppose, so what sort of chaos have I left behind?"

"The press core can't decide how to play this, you allowed Fudge room to manoeuvre, Dumbledore took some more hits, but there is no way that the press will go after him yet, his reputation with the wider public is still too good.

Turning down compensation in favour of setting up that charitable fund was a work of genius."

"Well once Ted discovered I still have access to all the Black vaults I don't need any more money."

"Didn't your mother cut you off from them?"asked Andy.

"Ah dear old darling crackpot mother. She threw me out after we argued and didn't allow me access as I wasn't of age at the time. Father never formally disowned me from the family because although I didn't agree with his politics I think the old man thought it was good to have sons of either side of the war it guaranteed the families survival. Besides, I moved in with the Potter's not Remus.

So as I never did anything that disgraced the family creed, dad didn't disown me. By the time he died, I was in prison, at that point in time the whole world assumed I was a Deatheater and had betrayed Harry's Parents. Dear old darling mummy thought my previous behaviour was a cover story and was overjoyed that I was on her side. She released all Black properties, vaults and trusts to me in case I ever got out again.

So I turned down the ministries offer of compensation and had them set up a fund to pay for defence lawyers for anyone who couldn't afford to bribe the judges."

"Yes although you didn't quite phrase it like that, the press aren't stupid and we knew what you meant.

You blindsided Albus on Harry's guardianship so it was agreed to before anyone realised what it was they had agreed to. "

"All I asked for that all rights that where my legally mine be reinstated to me, there was no way that a pureblood packed chamber would ever vote against that. So once it was agreed I then pointed out that made me Harry's magical guardian, I informed them I had already spoken to his legal guardians and was happy he was in a safe and secure place and would allow him to continue to stay with them. However, I also placed Harry under the protection of the house of Black.

"What does that mean exactly? You've mentioned it a couple of times my politics lessons with Andy haven't got that far."

"Well it doesn't mean as much as it used to. At one time an ancient and noble house would be allowed to raise its own army and anyone daft enough to go against the house would find an army camped on its lawn. Nowadays it just means I can use any legal means possible to damage someone who insults you. But as the Blacks are one the richest wizarding families it just means I'd bankrupt anyone who annoys me, and no one with respect for tradition, meaning all the pureblood families in the Wizengamot would stand and watch and not intervene."

"Cool."

"Let that be a lesson Harry, learn the rules and use them to get what you want. Now if you'll excuse me this is the longest I've stood or spoken for over eight years."

"Not quite yet my Lord, you have paperwork to fill in, right now.

"What now Ted?"

"You're an animagus and I know you're not registered. All we need is a reporter sniffing around and your back in Azkaban, so you will fill in the form, pay the fee and I'll have them on Amelia's desk before there is any trouble."

"You worry too much, you know." Said Sirius sitting down at a table with a pile of forms Ted had produced from inside his briefcase.

"You are too much a Gryffindor and never consider the consequences."

Luna and Xeno excused themselves and headed home.

"Luna if your friends keep making so many headlines I'm going to have to go weekly."

"Well they are the type of people who can destabilise a government over breakfast."

"Not quite, Sirius went out of his way to be fair to Fudge. He stated he had no argument with the current minister or the DMLE. It was only the people in office or holding titles of responsibility at the time who should have to account for their actions. He gave Albus a very pointed look while saying this. I know the press box picked up on it, although I doubt it will see print.

We came very close to seeing a new minister because of our plot, but you back tracked quickly, is Fudge necessary?"

"No, in fact he's worse than useless in my time he denies Voldemort's return even after Harry and Dumbledore insist he's returned. No if I thought, there would be a strong and effective minister after him I'd have pushed for his fall. But you told me there was no strong contender ready to replace him. Getting someone from the conservative pureblood camp would be a disaster. I want to change things so much that Voldemort never returns and whoever is minister is just a sideshow. Not saying that there aren't some people in the ministry I'd like to get rid of. Not sacked necessarily more imprisoned or possible just sent swimming in a vat of lobalug."

"Luna, that isn't how we brought you up."

"It's very hard to be forgiving to be people who have tried to kill you or killed and tortured your friends, even if it hasn't happened yet."

They headed into the house and settled down for the night. The following morning Luna rather pensively approached Selene.

"Mum I want to go and see Sirius soon and I need you to come with me please."

"What the problem Luna?"

"Well I need him for some schemes but the problem is my head tells me he is a good looking man three years older than me, but my body is of a prepubescent girl and I'm repulsed by the idea I find him attractive. So I need to have a business meeting and I need you to kick me if I start flirting"

Selene grimaced as she thought this over. "I'm trying to come up with a response that isn't throwing up at that idea and grounding you."

"I know exactly how you feel that why I need you to come with me."

Selene and Luna first flooed to the Tonks house, after a brief discussion Ted floo called Sirius who came through to them.

"Good morning Lord Black, I need to call in that favour from you."

"Morning Luna, Selene good to see you again. Well I know I made it formal last night but really as I understand it you where instrumental in getting Harry away from his aunt and uncle, and also getting me out of prison so if I can do anything for you I will."

"What do you know of Horcruxes Sirius?"

"Never heard of them, why?"

"Horcruxes are soul anchors, someone who has made one can never really die even if his body does. His soul will still linger and he can be returned to a new body, through various rituals."

"This isn't hypothetical here you're talking about Voldemort aren't you?"

"Yes and I believe you and the House of Black has one in its possession and may have access to another."

"What? How did that happen?

There is a locket somewhere in your mother's house that her house elf has hidden. There is another in Bellatrix's personnel vault. That will be hard to get even harder now you've cast her out of the family."

"So we need to find them and destroy them? Is that it Voldemort gone for good?"

"Well firstly destroying them isn't going to be easy. Fiendfyre will do it. Stabbing them with basilisk venom embedded blade will do it. But I don't know any other ways. The other problem is there are six in total at the moment so all need to be destroyed and I don't know where the ring is."

"You don't" blurted Selene. "I thought you knew them all"

"I know what they are, but Albus found and destroyed the ring, almost killing himself in the process. He might have told Harry where he found it but Harry never mentioned it to me."

"Excuse me," said Sirius "but what the hell are you talking about? We need to find the ring but Albus has already destroyed it? He's told Harry but they have never met."

Luna shared a look with Selene. "I had planned on telling him, but I think we should have built up to it a bit better."

"Tell me what?"

"How long do you think we can keep this up for before he gets really annoyed?"

"I think about another thirty seconds"

"Hello I am I still in the room? Please talk to me."

"Hello Sirius Black, I'm Luna Lovegood and I'm twenty-eight I think. I happened upon a wild form of time travel and I'm now trapped in my ten year old body with all my future memories, and I promise you this I intend to make it better this time."

"Is this a prank? Did Remus put you up to this? It's convoluted enough to be one of his jokes."

"Can you cast a patronus Sirius?"

"I could, my magic is a little haywire since my return from prison."

"Do you think a ten year old can?"

"Never your core isn't developed enough"

Luna wished she had a camera for Sirius's face as a silver hare ran past him. "That's always a show stopper. "

"Who else knows?"

"My parents, Andy knows quite a bit, Ted knows I have future knowledge. Harry knows a lot. I wrestle with what to tell people all the time. I've had long conversations with Harry where I've refused point blank to answer his questions?"

"Why won't you?"

"Imagine knowing who you were going to marry before you had ever met her. It would make for an awkward first meeting don't you think."

"Well it used to happen all the time with marriage contracts, but I see your point."

"Another way of testing is calling for your mother's elf and telling him to bring you the locket Regulus gave him."

"I hate that elf. Kreacher."

"You called master, great mistress said that you went the filthy blood traitor she thought, so you call her I am."

"May I Sirius? Kreacher I believe Regulus gave you a locket to destroy. I want you to bring it to us so we can destroy it for you."

"Yes it was masters last order. Destroy it he tells me, or keep it safe. Let no one know it exists."

"Bring us the locket Kreacher and we will carry out my brothers wishes, you can watch us if you wish."

Kreacher popped out and returned with the locket.

"Here, Kreacher drop it in this bag." Luna held out the bag she had brought.

"So now what?" asked Sirius, "we can't use fiendfyre here Andy and Ted would not be happy if we burned down their house."

"Mudbloods and blood traitors. The shame, you have brought Kreacher to the house of filth. You are not fit to be my master. Your mother was right about you."

"Shut up elf.

"Can you all follow me? I've found a safe place to do this."

Luna appararted to an abandoned quarry. She watched as her mother and Sirius appeared followed by Kreacher.

"There are some lime kilns just over here. They are derelict now but they are designed to cope with intense heat."

The group made their way to the abandoned kiln and Luna placed the bag in the centre of the kiln. "Do you want to do the honours Sirius? Regulus died because he retrieved this from Voldemort."

"For you little brother rest easy." Sirius pointed his wand and cast the spell, instantly the kiln was filled with a roaring noise, and Luna's bag was consumed instantly. The serpents and raptors within the flames looked around for anything else to consume but Luna had picked the spot well and they faded to nothing.

"Well that was easy."

A.N.

I don't know about you but I wanted to get at least to the summer holidays this chapter.

Oh well I have a plan but detail keeps getting in the way. I was accused of micromanaging but I'm enjoying myself and others seem to be too.

There are so many scenes in my head I want to write but I need to get to at least the shopping trip for the first of them.

Magical Guardians, is it just a fanfic cliché or is it a canon fact?

This will not be a Luna Sirius ship story. Her body is 10 and her mind is 28, she gets a little confused sometimes. The whole idea is just yuck. Actually I can't ship Luna with anyone until she her body gets to at least seventeen for reasons of yuck.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

Chapter 11

They returned to the Tonks' house. Kreacher was sent back to Grimmauld Place with instructions not to communicate with anyone about what he had witnessed today.

"Luna, you have done me a world of good to know that Regulus went someway to redeeming himself at the end. What's next on the agenda?"

"A visit to Gringotts, but we need to plan this one. I know the item we want is in Bellatrix's vault. Is that a Black vault, a Lestrange vault, or her personal one? Either way, I can't see the Goblins allowing us access just because we ask nicely. They have no reason to respect Wizards and operate according to Goblin law. The other detail is your celebrity status. I can see this turning into a media circus if you spend too much time out in public."

"How would the Goblins react to the truth? They can't want Voldemort to return any more than we do. Surely war is bad for business?" asked Selene.

"If you have time to prepare, war is good for business, but so is peace. I know how the purebloods treat Goblins, when what they want is equality. If we can speak to a senior member of the branch, we might get a fair hearing. But if they turn us down, they will really be on their guard against any attempts to get it. How did Harry manage it last time?"

"Used polyjuice to impersonate Bellatrix and rode out on a guard dragon when it all went wrong, destroying half the bank in the process."

"All right, we call that plan B," said Sirius shaking his head in amazement "He really does take after James. When James's plans went wrong, they went spectacularly wrong. I think you're right, Luna, about avoiding publicity; I will get my representatives to arrange a meeting with as senior a member of Gringotts as they can. With the Black finances behind me, that will be pretty high."

'They finalized their plans, analysing details for things that could go wrong at length. At last, Luna and Selene returned home satisfied.

"Thank you, mum. I don't think he would have taken me seriously if you hadn't been there. I just can't believe that was so easy. One Horcrux down, and according to your theories, we might not have to destroy them all. "

"I know it's a few years away, but I'd like some time to study the diary before you destroy it. If I can find some way of measuring the size of the fragment that was left behind, I can possibly find out if Harry really is a Horcrux, or whether it is just a little fragment that got attached to him."

"Mum, don't do this to me. You told me you didn't believe Harry's a Horcrux, and now you're not sure."

"I still don't believe it, but until I see Voldemort dead and Harry alive I won't be sure. While I'm giving you bad news, here's more. I don't know what happened to the piece of his soul we destroyed today. To be precise, we didn't destroy the piece of soul itself, only the vessel that anchored it. Now either that unanchored piece could have passed over, or it could have snapped back to the rest of Voldemort. Now this is the worrying bit: if the soul snaps back, it might be that if Harry was in the vicinity when you destroyed a Horcrux, the piece of soul might be attracted to him."

"Define vicinity. How close? Feet, miles, or just closer than the rest of Voldemort, who, might I remind you, is probably in Romania at the moment, while Harry was in the same country as us when we destroyed the locket. I cannot believe I said this was easy! Mum, do you have any answers, or just things to make me worry? I will not let Harry die, not unless I get a written guarantee from Death herself that he can come back."

"Luna, I don't have any answers. I think Harry should be fine unless he is in the immediate area when a Horcrux is destroyed, but getting Andy to give him a check-up should answer most of those questions. But what will you do if Harry really is a Horcrux?"

"We just keep killing Voldemort. So what if he doesn't really die? It took him thirteen years to make a body last time. So once every thirteen years he comes back, we Avada Kedavra him, and wait another thirteen years. Not a big deal, really."

Selene went from a snigger to a laugh. "I just have a vision of him standing doing a melodramatic speech when you hit him with a spell. Thirteen years later, 'Now where was I?' Bang. Thirteen years later, 'Oh, not again'."

Luna joined in the laughter. "'Now, my loyal Death Eaters,' bang. 'Now, my loyal Death Eat…' Bang. 'Now…' Bang. 'Can I please finish the sentence?' Bang."

"I hope you have a better plan than that."

"Well, my plan revolves around getting my very clever mum to research eastern techniques for getting a Horcrux out of Harry's head without killing him."

"All right, I guess I'll head back to the books. By the way, Luna, I didn't have to kick you today with Sirius."

"Well, although I still look at him and find him attractive, my hormones haven't really started up yet, so I just treat it as a fact to be ignored .Let's just hope I make it through puberty without doing something stupid"

It was a week later that Sirius informed them of the outcome of his meeting with the goblins. They had refused him entry into the Lestrange vault. However, when he had informed them that there was a cursed item in there that might cause injury to anyone who was exposed to it, and all he really wanted was the curse lifted, the goblins had promised him they would consider the request at the most senior level of their board. Sirius had even promised to help fund to a reasonable level any research toward removing the curse without damaging the item. While not committing himself, the manager who met with Sirius suggested that this would have a favourable outcome.

Luna was overjoyed at the news. Sirius inadvertently had recruited a second team to work on the problem of removing a Horcrux safely from an item without causing it harm. Without knowing all the facts, he might have saved Harry's life then and there.

Halloween was approaching and Andy had arranged a low-key party at her house. The Lovegoods, the Grangers and Sirius were on the guest list.

Andy had explained to Harry sometime before that Halloween was traditionally a feast day for wizards, but that they would tone it down out of respect for Harry's parents. She was astonished to realise that up until then, Harry hadn't known when his parents had died.

Luna was curious to meet the Grangers as she had always wondered as to what sort of home life could produce such an intelligent and precocious child as Hermione.

While initially a bit reserved, once they came to the realisation that it was just drinks and food on offer and they were not expected to take part in any strange rituals, they began to relax.

Luna had taken pains to explain that when they were contacted by Hogwarts, they should not under any circumstances mention that they knew Harry Potter.

The party broke up early, as it was midweek and Harry and Hermione had school in the morning. Sirius had gone from the life and soul of the party to a depressed wreck after a glass or two of whiskey.

He had initially been put off that Ted had no firewhiskey in the house. Ted only stocked single malts from Speyside. Once he had discovered Ted's eighteen-year-old Macallen, he was an instant convert. However it turned out that whiskey and Halloween turned Sirius into a melancholic drunk, and he was crying into his glass over the fate of Lily and James halfway through the evening.

Once the Grangers left, the Lovegoods went soon after. Luna found no matter what she did, her ten-year-old body needed more sleep than she wanted. She had become a night owl once she'd left Hogwarts.

November passed without incident. Harry and Hermione visited the Lovegoods and friendships were strengthened. Luna spent more time with Ginny and tried to keep their conversations away from Harry. Sirius and Harry bonded and Luna noted that Harry had started to develop a sense of humour. While Sirius was disappointed that Harry would never be the prankster he wanted him to be, Luna was overjoyed to watch a new facet of Harry's character develop.

As they moved into December, Luna noticed Harry was becoming increasingly anxious.

"What is the matter, Harry? You didn't look this concerned all the time when you lived with the Dursleys."

"I don't want to say it. It's silly."

After some persuasion from Luna, Harry finally told her. "Well, it's Christmas, and I don't know what to do. I've got money now, but I've never had family to buy anything for before. What do you buy for people? I know for Hermione, you buy a book. But do I get things separately for Ted and Andy, or a joint present? I want it to be really special, but to do that I'll have to visit my vault, and they've still banned me from Diagon Alley. I need to get Dora something. Should I buy a magical gift or a Muggle one?"

"Oh, Harry, only you could get into a panic about wanting to do a nice thing for someone. I think, in this instance, we should recruit Sirius. If you want to withdraw money from Gringotts, we might need his permission anyway. There are two ways to deal with going to Diagon Alley. One is a good disguise, and a glamour charm could take care of that. The other would be to make a deal with the press: you and Sirius could pose for some photos at the start and at the end of your shopping trip in exchange for not being bothered while you're shopping. You'll also get excellent service if the shops know you'll be posing with their bags later."

Sirius vetoed the publicity plan, claiming that Andy would skin him alive when she found out. Harry enjoyed the opportunity to call Sirius chicken. Still, the Christmas shopping went as well as could be expected with two males involved.

Dora returned on the twenty-second, and as expected she tried to wind Harry up by asking for his autograph. While Harry happily signed, she wasn't so happy that her parents banned her from taking any signed items back to Hogwarts to show off to her friends. Dumbledore was still out of the loop on Harry's location. Although he had tried to get the information out of Sirius, Sirius turned each of their conversations back to why the head of the courts had not wondered why a member of his own organisation had been thrown in prison without a trial.

So Dora stopped that joke quite quickly, since Harry wasn't intimidated by it Luna noted how easily Harry could take the teasing and even joined in, turning it back on Dora. He had come a long way from the bullied boy of just five months ago.

Luna visited Harry on Christmas Day. Andy told her to be careful with him, as he was overwrought with being treated as a member of a family. His usual Christmas experience was to help with the cooking and then be locked away if he so much as looked at Dudley's presents.

Luna was a little taken aback that Harry had bought her "Roger Waters: The Wall Live in Berlin" because he had known she liked Pink Floyd. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it had just been part of her school façade. Still, she thought, it might be interesting to listen to. Harry had put as much thought into everyone else's gifts, too; it seemed he was determined to make this first Christmas as perfect as he could.

They had a light tea and afterwards Andy and Ted called the whole family into the sitting room. Luna and Sirius joined them.

"Harry, we decided we'd ask you this today, but we don't know how you're going to react to it," Ted began rather awkwardly.

"Nice way of putting Harry on guard, dear. An opportunity has been offered to us, but we will only go ahead with everyone's approval." Andy scowled at Ted for his introduction.

"Harry, social services are very happy with your settling in here, so much so, in fact, that they have offered us a fast track to adopting you, if that is what you want."

Luna watched Harry's mouth move up and down, but no words came out.

"That would be fantastic!" enthused Dora. "I've always wanted a little brother to beat up."

"It would end that last threat that anyone could ever take you away from here." Ted reassured

"Um, Andy, Ted, thank you, I don't, um, I mean, well, yes, but what would it mean? Would I be a Potter or a Tonks? How does it work?"

"Practically, it will make no difference to the way we live our lives. You can keep your name, change or go double-barrelled, if you want. You can keep calling us Andy, Ted and Nymphadora." Andy was doing her best to reassure as she watched Harry try to take in this news.

"Not if he values his health, he won't," interjected Dora darkly.

"The difference it makes is that you will be legally part of this family, and nothing will ever take you away from that."

"Are you sure you want to do this for me?"

"Of course we want to Harry, you will never be a burden to us. We love you." Andy put all her reassurance into her words.

"Okay, let's do it!" Harry flung himself sobbing into Andy's arms and soon Ted and Dora joined them in a family hug.

Sirius coughed. "While we're making decisive announcements, I have one to share as well. It seems that Azkaban has affected my health in some unexpected ways." He coughed again and looked down. "While I won't go into details, let's just say I will be the last of my line. So I need an heir to follow me. There are three prospective candidates in my immediate family; one is disqualified by being female – sorry, Dora, the Blacks are patriarchal - and one is disqualified because his father is Death Eater scum, and I won't allow the Malfoys that much power in the world. The other is you, Harry. You're the next heir of the House of Black, congratulations. Now, I'm only thirty, and I hope to live at least another hundred years, so it shouldn't mean much, really. But I do have a duty as the head of the family to ensure its survival and to steer it in the right direction. By tradition, the heir to the family does get a rather nice trust fund vault. I have also opened a vault for Dora, too; while the Blacks were chauvinistic, I'm not."

"I feel a clothes shop coming on. Madam Malkins won't know what's hit her." There was no hiding the excitement in Dora's voice.

"Dora, tradition dictates how much money the heir gets. The Blacks liked to show the world how much influence they had and they did this by spending big. To ensure there will be no resentment between you and your new brother, I've set up equal funds for both of you. You can either go for a clothes shop or go buy a clothes shop."

"Sirius, thank you very much, but I wish you'd talked to Andy and me before dropping so much money on the kids" Teds exasperation with Sirius was plain for all to hear. "Dora, there will be no wild spending sprees. Same goes for you, Harry. You will use this opportunity to learn how to manage money wisely."

Luna left soon after that. She marvelled at the changes that she had managed to put in place in just under a year. Her first priority had been saving her mum's life and her dad's sanity, which was done. Harry's home life was so improved she couldn't factor how much; from being a worthless freak kept in a cupboard, he was now a loved member of a family.

When he entered Hogwarts, he would not be a lost little boy entering a strange world. Between Andy and Ted, he knew the all the customs of a pureblood prince and yet was aware of the interests and the culture of the mundane children starting at the same time.

Thanks to Sirius, he also had the resources of an ancient house to call on. While the Blacks didn't buy influence like the Malfoys, their name alone bought instant respect in certain parts of society.

On the wider scheme, Luna had destroyed a Horcrux and had detained under lock and key the man desperate enough to go searching for Voldemort. Those two acts might have set back his return by years.

Next on the list of major changes was to track down the ring, and to judge the best time to turn Barty Crouch over to the DMLE.

The Christmas period had numerous parties and gatherings. Luna almost had a crisis as Harry tried to visit unexpectedly while Ginny was at her house. Thankfully, her mum spoke to him while Luna hustled Ginny up to the living room.

While she knew that it was coming soon, she wanted Harry and Dumbledore kept separate for as long as possible. The first thing Ginny would do after meeting Harry would be to tell her mum. Molly would be on the floo to Dumbledore before she told Arthur. That woman held Dumbledore in such a high regard that it was scary.

Luna wished that Harry was old enough to learn Occlumency. It was not advisable for children of his age; however, once he was old enough she would advise Sirius to hire tutors who would be more agreeable than Snape. Although, Luna conceded, the list of people less agreeable would be quite short.

The New Year saw Dora head off to Hogwarts in robes with a slightly finer cut than she had been wearing before. Harry and Hermione's school had to close for a few days unexpectedly in the first week back after storms had brought down some trees in the grounds and left others unsafe.

So they spent their time at the Rookery, as both the Tonks; and the Grangers were working.

Hermione spent her time explaining to Luna all that she had learned from Andy in her lessons on Wizarding politics. Luna was pleased that Hermione had learned about the discrimination built into the system at an early age.

It was probably Hermione's determination to stand up for what she felt was right despite society's norms that had gotten her into Gryffindor. In another life, Hermione would have been a suffragette or marched next to Rev. King. She would spend her future life promoting the rights of those whom wizards barely considered sapient.

She now went into those struggles armed with the right customs and social nuances. The message wouldn't be any more palatable to the elite, but at least she would avoid the faux pas that would give them an excuse to ignore her message.

Yes, this time around would be interesting.

Time moved its sedate course onwards. The Goblins agreed to Sirius's offer to fund the research to destroy the Horcrux. Selene's research was drawing blanks: there were too many unknowns in the books on Horcruxes, so Luna put her hope in the Goblins would finding something useful.

Winter turned to spring, and the trio were becoming inseparable. Luna was beginning to dread September's arrival; it wasn't just the fact that Voldemort would make his first attempt to gain a physical body, but the fact that she wouldn't be able to pop over to visit Harry and Hermione at a moment's notice was also starting to become a reality to her.

Luna had spent much of her life isolated, either out of a conscious effort to keep people away or out of necessity as she pursued one creature or another. Now for the first time in her life, she found she had friendships. She had initially kept Harry at arm's length in a professional relationship, more a teacher and her pupil than friends, but Hermione's addition to the group had changed that. Luna's decision not to share her time travelling past to her had changed the dynamics of the group. If Hermione had known both her true age and origin, she would have held Luna in too much awe; as another child, however, she was more than willing to disagree with her and so had learned critical thinking skills and how to think outside of the box.

Luna and Hermione had come to understand each other in their frequent disagreements over how the world worked, attitudes to study, and many different philosophical ideas. It never became personal, and while Luna had a vast amount of experience to draw from, she found that even an eleven-year-old Hermione could hold her own in arguments with her. It was only a lack of information and her naiveté that held her back, and her naiveté lessened with every conversation.

But these constant disagreements, rather than fuel resentment, caused respect and friendship to grow between them. Harry watched them in a bemused fashion, adding the odd point here and there to their discussions. Harry never over-thought things: when presented with a problem or situation he always jumped to a conclusion, causing amusement to Luna and irritation to Hermione. While she knew that his physical reflexes were fast, it turned out that so were his mental ones.

Luna noticed that Harry was a little down over the Easter period. He explained that he'd been expecting Dora to come home, but she had stayed at Hogwarts with her NEWTs coming up. She had only managed a brief apparition down for the afternoon before her books called her back to school. While at home, Harry revealed Dora had a brief interview with a social worker. Social services, he explained, had to check on the feelings of other siblings in an adoption case.

"Luna, do you think it would be okay if I changed my name? What I mean is, it wouldn't cause any negative effects, would it?" Harry asked on a visit.

"It might change some people's attitudes toward you. But the ones who might sneer at you for taking a Muggle name would sneer because, in their eyes, you are a halfblood, anyway. What were you thinking of?"

"Well, that's where it gets tricky. I was originally thinking of going double barrelled, Potter-Tonks, but then all Andy's politics lessons came home, so I was trying to find a way to add Black in there."

"Harry Potter-Black-Tonks doesn't really roll off the tongue; I can see the problem with that."

"I want to honour what the Tonks have done for me, so that's going in. I'm wondering about dropping Potter altogether, but I don't want to dishonour my mum and dad, either. I can see the best thing to do, but I think I'm trying to please everyone and play politics at the same time."

"Harry, I think you need to sit down with Ted and Andy, maybe Sirius, too. I think he'd be upset if you dropped Potter in favour of Black without advance warning. But changing your name would have no major changes that I know of. There are no doors that only Harry Potter may enter. Besides, magic like that is usually tied to your blood, not your name."

"Thanks, Luna. I think I know what to do now. Sometimes I just need the sounding board."

The three months until Dora returned home dragged for Harry and Luna. Harry missed her, and Luna felt as if she was watching an endless warm up session and was getting eager for the game to start. She had prepared Harry as much as she could to ensure that he was loved and cared for and that he wouldn't be going out as an ignorant pawn in someone else's game. While it was true she was still concealing things from him, she hoped most of them wouldn't come to pass anyway. Was there any point in telling him how Voldemort achieved a body if she already had Peter in prison, and she would get to speak to Amelia about Crouch Jr. soon?

The first significant event of the summer was when Hermione came to visit with Harry.

"You'll never guess what happened yesterday! I found out I'm a witch!"

"Hermione," said Harry, "you've known that for ages."

"Yes, I know, but today we had a visit from Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She knocked at the door and politely asked to come in. Mum told her she was too early for Halloween, and she was a bit too old for trick or treating. Well, she assured my mum that it was vitally important she talk to my parents regarding my future and that she had an explanation for the strange occurrences that she was sure my mum must have noticed."

Harry and Luna laughed as Hermione told her tale. They all knew that Hermione would be going to Hogwarts, but they marvelled at the concessions Dan managed to wangle out of McGonagall.

He had given her a hard time in lots of areas, thanks to Ted briefing him on all the loopholes in the school rules and the fact they just so happened to have a prospectus for the local private school open when she visited. Fees paid in pounds so they wouldn't have to worry about paying exchange rates; freedom for Hermione to use on-site floos to visit at prearranged times; having a member of staff visit once during each holiday period so that Hermione would be able to demonstrate to her parents just what she was learning, where among the concessions they had negotiated.

This was just the first encounter of the pair with Hogwarts, Luna once again regretted not being able to accompany them to watch the devastation they would bring upon the school. Hermione was the one who still had the most respect for authority, while Harry combined the traits of Sirius, Andy, Ted, and Xeno. He felt rules needed to be checked for loopholes, examined to find out why they were trying to control him, exploited for his best advantage, or just plain ignored, depending on the situation.

Yes, it would be an interesting year to come.

**A.N.**

Look up Clonerserpants: The Downside of Immortality. Part of his 'Screams' storyline. For some of the problems with immortality. Rated M for a reason. Very very dark. Murder mayhem and torture., funny too.

I know AK doesn't make an a bang noise when cast but I don't care in this specific instant.

Previous chapter mistake Churchill was Chancellor of the Exchequer not Home Secretary during the general strike but he was still in favour of sending armed troops out on to the streets.

Firewhiskey I wrote a 500 word rant on how silly an idea that is. But decided it took the story nowhere and removed it. Everyone say thank you. The idea of firewhiskey must have been created by someone who doesn't know how to drink the stuff. I'll say no more.

Harry's personality, he has friends, family a godfather and a mentor. He can understand the difference between Dora teasing and Dudley's bullying. However, he will react quite differently in a real conflict situation because scars of abuse can appear to be healed but can reopen quite quickly.

But how will he react? That's the question.

I am not a Dumbledore basher, but I find a man who wants to redeem everyone and sees the best of everyone at best naïve and at worst a danger to his own side. While they are some excellent manipulative Dumbles stories out there, this won't be one.

This chapter fought me, to be written. I find it a little too episodic. But I really want to get to Hogwarts.

I'm not giving away Harry's choice of name yet but how about Harry Black-Tonker a mixture of Tonks and Potter?

Alright next chapter we find out Harry's new name and he gets sorted, I hope. I think I might get myself a D4 to find his house.

A word on frequency of updates. They will be getting slower. I turn out 5k every 5 to 10 days depending on life. I send it off to my beta, who then spends another 5-10 days getting it into a readable state. I then receive and review the changes. Rewrite sections add or remove details as necessary.

So things are going to take more time but I have no intention of abandoning this.

Extra scene.

_Luna staggered out of Teds technology room, her eyes where wild and her breathing laboured. Andy rushed up to her and enfolded her in a hug._

"_What's a matter Luna dear? You look like you've seen a ghost"_

"_Tear down the wall, tear down the wall," she muttered clutching her present from Harry in her hand as she rocked in Andy's arms. _

End of scene.

Some people think The Wall is just another piece of prog rock theatre. Others find it deeply disturbing. I think Luna would be in the latter camp.

Like my rant on firewhiskey it adds nothing to the story and never happened.

Many thanks to Jedi Goat, who didn't just fix the spelling and punctuation but actually edited this, rewrote a couple of passages and asked me just what was I trying to say in certain sections. Any errors still in this are from the fact I rewrote some pieces after she sent it to me.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

**A.N. **

Shifting POV within this chapter.

Chapter 12

Luna was watching Hermione work her way through her first year Charms textbook. She had just gotten her wand yesterday and had asked to visit the Rookery so she could try out a spell or two, just to see if it worked.

However, Hermione's enthusiasm for learning new things was getting the better of her.

Selene, who was also watching, stepped in after an hour of constant spell casting.

"All right, Hermione, I think that's enough. You'll exhaust yourself. You don't run a marathon upon getting your first pair of running shoes."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lovegood, but I've been reading Dora's textbooks for the past year, and while I enjoy the theory, the chance to put it into practice is hard to resist."

Harry was half watching Hermione, sitting with a Potions textbook open on his knee. Luna had insisted that he read up on potions, if nothing else.

"Are you all set for your holiday, Harry?"

"Yes. A week or two with Sirius will be fun; at least he won't make me read Potions books over the holidays."

"What's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "They're the same plant, Luna. I'm really starting to look forward to this holiday, you know."

"Where are you off to, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know. I'm not certain if even Sirius knows exactly where we are going – it's one of his unplotable properties. Everyone thinks it would be a good idea if I'm away from home when I get my Hogwarts letter. "

"I've heard that, but I don't understand why you don't trust the school with that information."

"Hermione, we don't trust Albus Dumbledore. He's made too many mistakes and allowed too much to happen for us to trust him. He was head of the courts when Sirius was locked up with no trial. He was the one who placed me with the Dursleys and then never checked up on me. Ted and Xeno told me he went frantic trying to find me once I left there. He must have had some way of knowing what was happening there but didn't intervene. He has asked Xeno and Sirius countless times for my location because I need to be kept safe. But it was a member of his organisation who betrayed my mum and dad and he never suspected him. He will find out eventually where I live, but the longer it is that he doesn't find out the happier I'll feel."

Luna watched Hermione struggle with this information before nodding her consent. "I understand. It's not as if my dad gave Hogwarts an easy time, either. I guess the best you can say is that Albus Dumbledore is... ineffectual in his roles." Luna had to strain to catch Hermione's final comment as if she didn't want anyone to hear her insult Dumbledore.

Harry gave Luna a meaningful look. He'd been badgering her to share her background with Hermione for some weeks now, but she was still resisting; she knew Hermione's attitude would change because of it, and she was enjoying the friendship that they had now. Harry was fed up of having to watch his words around them both.

When the two had departed for the day and Hermione had arranged to visit again, Luna settled down for the evening.

"Why are you getting Harry to read Potions textbooks?" asked Selene.

"Step one of my master plan to defang a snake. Harry's life will be better in school if things go better with Snape. I've been nagging Andy to do something about his eyes, too; I want him to look more like Lily than James, and those glasses get in the way."

"This is low level time tinkering just to keep your hand in?"

"Something like that." Luna paused to gather her thoughts. "Mum, do you think I should tell Hermione about my time travelling?"

"I think it's your decision, Luna. I can argue both sides of that one. The less people who know, the better. Even Ted doesn't know too much – just that he "needs to trust your advice and that you're not a normal girl of your age. But I know that you struggle with guilt over your manipulation. Why do you want to tell her?"

"I can justify it in all sorts of ways, but it basically comes down to the fact that I don't like lying to my friends. We are becoming good friends. In my future, we had become best friends, and she really hated me travelling so much. She'd be on my doorstep before I'd finished unpacking. It's great to have that friendship again, but at the moment it is based on a lie. Harry hates it and I think he just might tell her anyway, not out of spite, but because if he saw a good reason to tell her, he wouldn't make the effort to conceal the truth. "

"As I said, it's your decision, but I think your mind's made up."

When Hermione flooed in to the Rookery the following morning, Luna led her upstairs to her bedroom. Luna's room had a professional feel to it – more like a student bedsit than a little girl's room. The desk and bed had a Scandinavian practicality to them. Bookcases cluttered the walls. Through the windows were excellent views of the surrounding hills, and the stream at the bottom of the valley could just be seen.

It was certainly not the little girl's room it had been when she had returned to this timeline, nor the brightly coloured room she had created for herself in the last. This was a place she could study and be herself. It had freaked Ginny out upon first seeing it, though Hermione would probably admire it.

"Before you start to practice any hexes, I have a little confession to make. No, that's not true. I have a life altering confession to make, and I hope you can forgive me for any hurt I may have caused you." Luna had picked up her wand and was fiddling with it while talking.

"That's never a good start to a conversation. What is the problem, Luna?"

"Well, let's just jump in here: I'm not as young as I look. Let me clarify that first: I'm really twenty-eight, I think. But it's more than that: when I was twenty-seven, I encountered a form of wild magic that shunted me back in the time line. I woke up as a nine year old child, but with all my memories from those eighteen years I'd lived still intact. Since then I've been changing things. The life I had lived was not a peaceful one. I lived through a war. I saw my friends and family die." Luna looked up and made eye contact with Hermione.

"I swear to you, Hermione, I'm trying to do all I can to make things better. My ideal is that no one will die in battle. I'm aware that some would call me a manipulator, but when I meet people who I've seen die, I can't let it happen again."

"Stop right there, Luna." Hermione cut through whatever Luna was going to say next. "Let me think. So you've been back for how long? Certainly over a year?"

"Nineteen months."

"So what was the first change you made?"

"In my past life, my mum died in front of me when an experiment went wrong. It sent my dad over the line from eccentric to demented."

"Okay, no need to justify that one. What did you do next?"

"I tracked down Harry and befriended him. I wanted to call social services directly, but he asked me not to. So I gently encouraged him to understand what a normal life was and supported him until he was ready to make that decision himself."

"I doubt anyone could find fault in that, although some might have intervened in a more direct manner. Have you directly manipulated me?"

"I don't think so." As Hermione's brow furrowed in thought, Luna spoke again. "In my last life you never met Harry until you boarded the train to Hogwarts. Your meeting him this time around was a random occurrence, although I did encourage Harry in your friendship once you had met. It was Ted as a Muggle-born who decided to tell your parents the news that you were magical. I decided not to tell you about myself, as I wanted to see if we would become friends.

You hold authority figures in a lot of regard. You would have never fought your corner if you knew I was twenty-seven years old and a master's degree holder. I hope we have become friends and can stay friends." Luna paused and watched Hermione. She was toying with a lock of her hair as she worked through the implications of what Luna was telling her. Finally, the frown turned to a slight smile.

"Come here, Luna." Hermione stood and opened her arms, and Luna tentatively stepped into them, receiving a hug from Hermione.

"I'd never really had friends till Harry came along. Now I have two, but that's not so many that I can afford to lose one. Now then, what can you tell me of your future?"

While Luna was telling Hermione what she felt she needed to know about her timeline and the things she hoped to change this time, Harry was settling down with Sirius.

Sirius apparated them into the courtyard of a large detached house. It was a solidly built square house; It appeared to be made from well cut granite blocks. An oversized dark oak front door stood before them. To either side of the front door were three large windows.

Harry stared at the house, a little startled. He considered the Tonks' house large, but this was in a different league. It was hard to imagine just one person living here. Harry imagined that the Tonks' could move in and they would have to use owls to speak to each other. The feel of the house screamed, we've got money and aren't afraid to flaunt it. Definitely not a welcoming feel to the place.

As they approached the door, it opened for them.

"It will do that for you and me, as you are now the Black heir, but anyone else will have to knock. This is my favourite of the Black properties. It's not as overbearing as the manor house. Thankfully, my mother hated it, so it has none of her touches of madness about it. The elves who maintain it are about as sane as you can expect from house elves and they do a good job. Show them a little gratitude, and they'll work all day for you."

Sirius led Harry into the entrance hall of the house. The floor was a polished mosaic of the Black crest. Directly in front of them was a black oak staircase that hugged the walls as it led upstairs.

Harry looked around the entrance hall. He had seen the Black crest before; in fact, Andy had made him draw it once Sirius had made Harry his heir. He knew all the components: the black shield, the dogs and stars, the chevron and the sword, although he reflected that Andy would insist on the formal description. Sable, a chevron between two mullets in chief and a sword in base, argent. Harry just felt between the sword and the motto, _toujours pur_, that this wasn't a welcoming room.

Sirius took Harry's arm. "_Toujours pur_. Always pure. My family meant it to be just about blood, but you and I shall change it to mean motives – our goal for society."

Harry simply nodded. To be honest, he was overwhelmed by all the grandeur the house was throwing in face. From the chandelier hanging down to the marble in the mosaic, where ever he looked, he saw details of extravagance. The door handles had jewels inlaid in them. Every inch of the staircase was elaborately carved.

"Would you like the grand tour?"

If the rest of the house was as intimidating as the entrance hall, Harry wasn't sure, but nodded his consent.

Sirius led Harry around the house; they dropped Harry's bags off in his bedroom first. A large four-poster bed with curtains hanging down dominated the room. Harry looked around the room: the bed covers were golden in colour, the curtains in red velvet, and while at first it looked large, it felt warm, too. The fireplace with a log fire added to the feel. This was the first part of the house that Harry had seen that was designed for living, not flaunting money.

"This will be your room from now on; you can use it whenever you want. The bed is modelled on the ones from Hogwarts, and the colour scheme is Gryffindor's. You'll get used to sleeping in it pretty quick."

Sirius pointed out his own bedroom and then the bathroom, explaining to Harry about some of the unique features of wizarding plumbing. The bath itself was huge but Harry would have needed to take notes on the taps if he wanted to stand a chance of remembering what each one did.

Back downstairs, the rooms went back to the mixture of being either imposing or for living in. Sirius pointed out the dining room, comfortably able to sit a rugby team, with a smaller smoking room off it. The smell of centuries of cigar smoke clung to the interior of the room. He briefly mentioned the library, floor to ceiling and every space except the windows covered in books, and the sitting room with wood panelling on the walls, four leather chesterfield sofas facing inward around a coffee table. The sitting room was the first room that felt as though Sirius lived here and not just inhabited the space. He reluctantly gestured to another door.

"I'm about to ask a lot of you now, Harry, but please don't tell Andy or Ted about this room."

With a flick of his wand and a mumbled Alohomora, Sirius led Harry into a tidy and organised office.

"Ted and Andy think I'm nothing but a shiftless layabout, and I try to encourage that belief every chance I get. It's a harmless little prank, but it amuses me. Andy enjoys nagging me, Ted enjoys the feeling of superiority, and I enjoy deceiving them: everyone's happy. It's from here I wage my war. With the Black finances behind me, I'm slowly buying up businesses and debts and properties. A large number of Death Eaters rejoined society after the last war. They'd been Imperiused, they claimed. Well, a large number of my friends died in the war, and I'm still fighting for them. If Luna can't change the future and war happens again, old voldy-warts will have to have an army that is merely enthusiastic, because I'll see to it none of his followers has enough spare Galleons to pay for anything. I have agents out in the country finding out the habits and interests of his Death Eaters and of a few others Luna wants neutralised, and I'm using them against them. For example, Yaxley likes a drink: I own his favourite pub. A slightly generous landlord and a compulsion charm, well, you wouldn't believe his bar tab. He'll either be an alcoholic by the time I'm done or so in debt I'll have him thrown into Azkaban for failure to pay.

Harry stood in wide-eyed amazement, seeing his godfather in a new light.

"The funny thing is, this is the way my father used to work, and I hated him for his arrogance. His targets were Muggle-borns and blood traitors; here I am using the same tactics to take out people he would have thought of as friends. I suppose it's ironic that I'm using Slytherin tactics to remove the threat of Death Eaters from society. If you can just give me a minute, Harry, to check that there is nothing urgent in this morning post."

Sirius settled behind the desk and took out some parchments from a box on his desk. The first he glanced at and dropped into another box; the second he wrote some notes on hurriedly and placed into a different box; when he got to the third, his entire demeanour changed. Harry almost took a step back at the look of pure anger that crossed Sirius's face.

"That stupid idiot. Harry, I'm sorry, but a very serious issue has come up. You're about to see a very different side of me. Do you trust me, Harry?"

"Yes, Sirius, I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Right, we're going to prank someone. But unlike most pranks, this isn't for fun. We are going to go and save someone's life. Although it might look like I'm about to destroy it."

"Where are we going?" Sirius was up and out of his chair and was pacing now.

"We are off to see a man I loved more than I loved my family, someone who was only behind your father in how much I cared for him. The cleverest and brightest of my friends and the one who is wasting his life, which is going to stop today. This could be called an intervention. Here, take my arm."

Sirius had led Harry out of the house by now and they were standing in the courtyard."We're going to apparate to his house, and he will either see sense or he'll be seeing stars."

After the usual apparation feeling of contraction and expansion had faded, they found themselves in front of what would be better called a shack than a house. The building in front of them was dirty and dilapidated. Burning it down would have increased its resale value and would certainly have done something about the smell. Sirius walked up to the door.

"Knock knock," he said, matching word with action.

A bleary voice from inside shouted, "Go away!"

Taking his wand, Sirius cast Reducto on the door. The spell impacted with the door and put a hole the size of Sirius' fist near where the lock was. Fragments of the door showered the inside of the house, and the voice they'd heard earlier cried out in pain.

Sirius leaned back and kicked the door. When it didn't move fast enough, he kicked it again.

"I said, knock knock." Turning to Harry, all the harshness left his voice. "Wait in the doorway, just in case the idiot starts casting." On saying that, Sirius walked cautiously into the house.

Harry looked into the house from the doorway. The windows all had heavy bars on the inside of them, and there was not one piece of furniture that wasn't either overturned or heavily damaged. Broken pots and bottles littered the floor, and the smell – Harry was glad Sirius had told him to stay in the doorway where he could get some fresh air. The house had a unique smell, as if a wet dog had thrown up in a distillery.

Sirius had found his friend, from the shouting Harry now could hear.

"You stupid idiot. What sort of life is this for a man? Damn it, man, you've found somewhere worse to live than even Azkaban. I'm talking from experience here. So what has the cleverest, most respectable marauder who made prefect done with his life? Living in this hovel, doing odd jobs to buy enough whiskey to get you through the transformations. Did you ever think about anyone but yourself? You're coming with me."

"No, give me time – I can barely stand."

Harry heard a thud and a gasp. "I don't care if you crawl, follow me or next time I kick you." Sirius came striding out from a room and into the hallway towards Harry. "Be strong for me, Harry," he whispered. "This isn't going to be pretty."

Following behind Sirius was a man, if that was what he was; he was caked in filth and dressed in rags. Fresh blood flowed on one side of his body from when he must have been in range of the door's shrapnel before moving to the room where Sirius had found him. While Sirius strode through the house, this new man was bent double and pulled himself along with his hands.

"Look who's here, Remus." Remus obeyed Sirius's command immediately and gasped. "Do you know who this is? Do you recognise him?"

"It's Harry, isn't it?"

"Why do you have to ask, Remus? Why is this the first time you've seen James and Lily's son since that night? Why is it that you, as the last marauder, haven't seen him before this? Why is it that until recently, this boy, who you swore to protect, lived locked up in a cupboard, ignored, neglected, ignorant of his heritage, the only thing he knew of James and Lily that he was a worthless drunk and she was a fool for marrying him? So tell me, Remus, why did you spend all your time looking into bottles and not looking for Harry?" Sirius was roaring his questions at Remus now. Remus had collapsed in tears at first but as each question was asked, he flinched as if struck until, finally, he snapped.

"Enough! You dare... You hypocrite! Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, what does he do upon finding Harry? Does he care for him, as he swore? Oh, no, not stupid, impetuous Sirius! No, he gives Harry to the first person he meets and runs off on his own private revenge mission. He then spends the next years locked away from the boy he swore to care for, and yet you dare lecture me!"

"Yes, Moony, this is a new time, and I had to see if there was any spirit left in you, other than the type that comes out of a bottle. Stand up, man, let me look at you." Sirius had gone from shouting to talking now. Harry was surprised at the care and comfort in his voice.

Remus tried to raise himself to his full height but still stood hunched. "Merlin's beard, you had to go and find me on a night after the full moon."

Sirius turned to Harry and winked. "This will never do. Agumenti." A fierce jet of water flew out from Sirius's wand, hitting Remus. Sirius worked it up and down his body, washing off most of the filth.

"I'm not letting you in my house in that state. I will take Harry first, then come back for you."

"I can apparate, you know."

"I was there when we took the exams. But first off, you're shaking too much. Secondly, you don't know where we're going, and as I don't know its location, I can't just tell you. So wait here and I'll be back. If there is anything in there that has any value, you'd best bring it. Someone has blown a hole in your door, so you won't be locking up. See you."

Sirius took Harry and apparated back to the Black house. The moment they had regained their composure, Harry turned on Sirius.

"Was that necessary? You blew out his door; I know you hit him and those things you said, using me as a weapon against him, what was all that about, Sirius?"

Sirius sighed and sat down on the step next to Harry. "There might have been better ways to handle it, but I wanted Remus angry. Last night was the full moon; he was bitten as a child and now every full moon he turns into a werewolf. The transformations are incredibly painful for him. You saw the state he was in: barely able to stand upright. Well, on days close to the full moon, the beast is still quite close to the surface. Making Remus angry flooded his system with adrenaline, which actually brought in his self-healing mechanisms. A transformed wolf can only be hurt by silver or magic, so making him rage healed the damage from the door but it also helped to undo some of the joint damage he suffers every time he transforms. It also flushed a lot of the alcohol out of his system.

"Those things we said to each other also needed saying, and we were both right. Well, now we've said them, and marauder tradition states that once a grievance is aired you can't bring it up again to attack someone. Anyway, I'd best go back for him. Can you go to the fireplace and call Andy? If the connection is made from here, she can come through. Tell her to bring her healer's kit, too."

While Harry went into the sitting room, Sirius disapparated. Harry called through to Andy.

"Hello, Andy, Sirius wants you to come through. We have someone who needs medical assistance."

"Already? I'd have laid odds that Sirius couldn't have gone the morning without calling for help. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'll let Dora know and grab my bag. Leave the connection open."

Andy was true to her word and a minute later came through the floo. "Well, you look fine. What have you done to Sirius?"

"It's not either of us but a friend of his called Remus. Sirius broke into his house, beat him up, and then they both had screaming fits at each other. But Sirius keeps telling me it's for the best and that they are friends, really."

"I know of Remus, and if Sirius treated anyone else that way, I'd hex him for his behaviour, especially in front of you."

Just then, Sirius half-leading, half-carrying Remus into the living room interrupted anything else Andy had to say on the subject.

"Andy, can you turn the sofa to a bed, please? He might be stick thin, but I can't hold him up all day."

"While I might enjoy watching you work, I think you're right. He needs to lie down."

With a wave of her wand, Andy turned one of Sirius's dark green chesterfields into a standard hospital bed.

Sirius led Remus over and helped to lie down. "A hospital bed in a Black property, Andy? Have you no sense of style?"

Andy ignored Sirius and went to work with her wand, casting diagnostic spells on Remus. She gave Remus a potion and watched as he fell asleep. After five minutes, she moved back to Sirius. "Do you know about his condition?"

"Worked it out when he was thirteen. "

"Is he registered?"

"Yes, as soon as he left Hogwarts, which is why, I guess, he's in this state. No one would ever give him a job."

"Right then, he's in a lot of pain – all his muscles and joints are showing stress. He is probably in a worse state physically than Harry was when we met. He needs a potion regime to help him put on some body mass. But he's going to go through the same physical pain every month. What do you intend to do for him?"

"Get him back on his feet and then employ him. He's a good man and I have need of good men.

There is a new product out on the market – quite expensive – a potion that will take away the worst effects of the transformation. I'll see that he gets it. It is the least I can do."

"Sometimes, my Lord, I forget how good a man you are. I have given him a potion to ease the pain and let him sleep. See if you can move his bed upstairs without waking him."

Harry enjoyed the next two days with Sirius and Remus. At times, Sirius seemed almost bipolar in his moods, shifting from an enthusiastic childlike joker to a darkly driven man when it turned to business. Remus had a dry laconic sense of humour that underpinned most of his dealings, but it would lighten when talking with Sirius, especially when they were remembering their Hogwarts days and the pranks they had played.

It was the morning of the 24th of July when a letter turned up for Harry.

As Harry looked at the heavy parchment envelope, Sirius asked to take a look at it.

"I was sure they were going to have someone hand-deliver it. Mind you, my sources tell me that McGonagall is furious with him about you, and it's her who deals with sending out the letters." Taking a look at the address, he laughed.

"Mr H Potter

The heir's bedroom

Black Cottage

Somewhere."

"I love living in an unplottable house."

"If we're unplottable, how did they find us?"

"Well, unplottable doesn't mean hidden. Hogwarts is unplottable, but everyone knows where it is: a mile down the road from Hogsmeade. You just can't put it on any maps. The thing is, we could walk out of the property, find the nearest town, and know where we are. But we only ever use magical means of transport to get here. I physically don't know where we are, although once anyone apparates in, they can do it again. We are not part of the public floo system; in fact, we are only connected to Ted and Andy's, although I will be adding Luna's place soon. So, are you going to open it?"

"Okay, let's see, Albus Dumbledore blah blah blah, you are invited to Hogwarts. Equipment list."

"Well summarised. You're going to have to watch that attitude, though."

"I beg your pardon, Sirius._ You_ are lecturing _me_ on my attitude toward Dumbledore?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Not your opinion, but your attitude, yes. He is practically worshipped by some in our world. If you show that much disrespect for him in public, you will end up fighting a two front war. Be a good little sheep, listen to what he says, nod politely, and don't look him in the eyes. He is useful, it's just that we are not going to follow his lead."

"You do know that a week ago, I trusted the man completely. I still find it shocking to hear someone disrespect him. Sirius is right, Harry, you need to watch your words and your attitudes," Remus warned.

"Say that again?" asked Sirius.

"What? Harry needs to watch his attitude."

"No, 'Sirius is right'. I get a warm feeling whenever you say that."

"Clown." Remus cast a spell at Sirius that he ducked and then countered with a spell of his own. Harry rolled behind the sofa and watched the two supposed adults casting minor jinxes back and forth.

Once they had calmed down, Sirius wrote an acceptance letter and then apparated to Diagon Alley to hire a public owl to send the note.

Sirius explained that Andy had insisted on taking Harry shopping, mostly because she didn't trust Sirius to practice restraint with his spending. It said brass scales, so they would be getting brass ones, not gold ones.

The morning of Harry's birthday dawned clear and bright. He received cards and a few small presents. Andy had taken the day off to take him shopping. After last year's surprise party, Harry smiled and allowed himself to be hustled out of the house.

Their first stop was to an optician's office to get his eyes retested and to look for new glasses. When they got to Diagon Alley, they found Dora waiting for them; she joined in the shopping expedition.

"Right, most boring stop first: school robes." Andy led the way to Madam Malkin's robes shop. After a quick word with Dora, Andy excused herself and let Dora take him into the shop.

"Hogwarts, dear? Of course you are, we've got everything here. We have another boy being fitted at the moment, but we can do you both at the same time."

Dora glanced into the back room; Harry could distinctively hear her swear. When she turned back to him she had changed her face from her usual one to the one Luna had christened "perky goth".

"Listen, Harry, that's Draco Malfoy in there. You know who that is, don't you? I don't know what to do for the best here. If I leave you together and his father turns up, mum will skin me alive, but if mum bumps into Narcissa with no warning, blood will flow."

"Calm down, Dora. Think, you're going to be an auror. What would they do?"

"It's easy for them: they'd call for backup. Backup, excellent. Madam Malkin, can I use your floo for a moment? Just add it to his bill."

Harry allowed himself to be led into the back room, where he was asked to stand on a box.

"Hogwarts, too? First or second year?" drawled Draco.

"First year, like you."

"How do you know I'm a first year?"

"Simple logic. If you were a second year, then you would have known what year I was in."

"Once we are done here, I'm going looking at brooms." Draco changed the topic. "Do you have your own broom?"

"No, it's something of a family disagreement. My…mum," Harry hesitated as he tried to find a word to describe Andy, "my mum thinks I'm too young, but I know my godfather would get me one the first chance he gets."

"So you don't play Quidditch then. You do have a team, though, right?"

"Wasps. You?"

"Wasps, too. Have you gone to see them much?"

"We went a lot last year, but we haven't really had time this year."

"That's a shame. The Puddlemere game was widely regarded as one of the best games in recent times. And we won, too."

"Yeah, I heard," Harry sighed, and the disappointment in his voice was clear to hear.

Dora interrupted as she walked into the room. "I've seen Luna outside and she has her big old mutt with her, so I'm just popping out to say hello."

Harry nodded in acceptance. He got her messages, both spoken and hidden. So Luna and Sirius thought a possible meeting with Lucius was something to worry about.

"Is that a friend of yours?"

"My cousin, actually," said Harry with ice in his voice. He was willing to give Draco a chance, but any insults directed at Dora would be the end of that.

"Do you know which house you'll be in?" Draco must have gotten the unspoken warning in Harry's tone as he changed the subject again. "What I mean is, all my family have been in Slytherin for generations, so I'm sure to be there. I think Father would disown me if I was elsewhere."

"My family has been in every house. My mum," Harry underwent less hesitation this time, "can't place me. She thinks I have traits of all the houses."

"Surely not Hufflepuff. They're all duffers."

"That's the same as saying that all Slytherins are dark wizards. Hufflepuffs just understand that sometimes the only way to get things done is to put in the hard work."

"I suppose. Still, I wouldn't want to go there. "

Before anything else could be said, Madam Malkin bustled in. "That's you done, dear. I think you'll find there's quite a crowd waiting for you. That dog gives me the creeps, to be honest, but there's such a sweet little girl with it. I hope it's safe."

"Well, see you at Hogwarts," drawled Draco.

"See you, cousin."

"What? Cousin? Who are you?"

"I'm Harry, son of James, son of Charlus and Dorea Black, daughter of Cygnus and Violetta. You are Draco, son of Lucius and Narcissa, daughter of Cygnus Black, son of Pollux, son of Cygnus and Violetta. So see you on the train, cousin."

Harry turned on his heel as Draco worked his way through the family tree in his head.

"Hello, Harry**," **Luna called in her singsong voice.

Harry sighed; there would be no sensible conversation had while Luna was in this mood.

000

Luna and Sirius had been at the Tonks house waiting for the birthday party to begin when Dora had called them and told them the Malfoys were in Diagon Alley. Sirius had jumped out of his seat and before he had said a word, Luna had taken charge.

"Right, there is no immediate threat, so we'll keep this low key. Sirius, can you apparate as a dog?"

"No, sorry. Once I'm in that form, I can't use magic."

"Fine, I'll side-along you. Transform, now." The tone of command in Luna's voice made him jump.

Remus laughed from he was sitting. "Whipped by a little girl."

"Listen to me closely, Sirius Black. We are going to observe. We will not cast first. I have every confidence in Harry beating Draco in a battle of wits. While I may want to carve out Lucius's entrails and play balloon modelling with them, we will do nothing first."

As they apparated away, she could just hear Remus saying, "Hold on, that's not possible."

The apparition points in Diagon Alley were busy as usual. No one paid any notice to them as they rushed up the Alley. They could see a frantic Dora standing in the doorway to Madam Malkin's. "I wanted back up, not a little girl and her dog. Don't tell me dad and Sirius were too busy checking out the whiskey collection." The frustration in Dora's tone was clear to hear.

"Hello, Nymphadora. Don't worry, the dog is Sirius. He's in disguise."

It was something of a testament to Dora's worry that she didn't object to being called by her full name. She ran back in to tell Harry and then hurried off in search of her mum. Luna glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention. Once she saw the coast was clear she cast a charm on the window that allowed them to hear the conversation.

Luna and Sirius shared a look and smiled; well, Sirius's tongue dropped out of his mouth when Harry acknowledged Draco as a cousin. Tradition stated that a public admission of family ensured they would have a day of peace between family members. Dreadful vengeance befell those who ignored such conventions.

Harry left the shop, leaving a confused-looking Draco behind.

"Hello, Harry," Luna called out in her singsong voice She knew it irritated Harry, but she felt it helped her stay in her little girl character.

They met up with Andy; Dora had headed home with something. The rest of the shopping was routine as they went from shop to shop purchasing Harry's school supplies. Luna mostly stayed outside with Sirius, although while at Flourish and Blotts, Andy stayed outside to thank Sirius for coming out as backup. Luna laughed at Andy being sincere while Sirius scratched himself.

The final stop of the day was for Harry's wand.

Luna felt a pang upon seeing Ollivander again. Her overwhelming memories of the man were of him being returned to the cell in Malfoy Manor after hours of torture at the hands of Death Eaters. Today was just full of cheerful memories: they'd narrowly avoided meeting Lucius, and now here they were with one of his victims.

Luna had not been joking about her desire to cut up Lucius. Still, Ollivander did love the sound of his own voice.

"Sirius, do you think I should prank Ollivander?" Luna whispered to the dog curled up at her feet.

Sirius raised his head and cocked his ear; finally he nodded. Well, of course Sirius would always say yes to the question, 'should we prank someone'.

Ollivander was up a stepladder pulling out boxes at apparent random.

"Oh, come on, Ollivander, just give Harry Voldemort's wand's brother and we can all go home."

Ollivander gave a little squeak, turned suddenly, and fell off the ladder. Wands went everywhere as he made his descent to the ground. After he recovered his dignity, he headed to the backroom, returning with a holly wand, eleven inches long with a phoenix feather core.

The wand responded as Luna knew it would. After paying, they left the shop.

"Come on," said Luna, "we have to get Harry back for his surprise party."

**A.N. **

The trace and underage magic. I can't find a canon explanation that makes sense. So I'm going to have it just be a monitoring system set on specific areas.

Sorry everyone, but Luna is not going to Hogwarts this year. While I thought about it and can think of several different ways to do it. I want her off and doing things this year. Besides she needs to spend time with people her own age.

Note on Remus' condition, in the books he used wolfsbane potion. Here he has been using cheap whiskey as pain relief.

Boys talking about sport bond. It's a strange fact of life but true. Although if Harry had been a canons fan not much bonding would have happened.

I don't know if you noticed but we're not at Hogwarts yet. I'm sure I'll get there next chapter. Almost certain.

Still longer I avoid it the more time I have to decide Harry's house.

Some dialogue is lifted directly from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. By J K Rowling.

A word on frequency of updates. They will be getting slower. I turn out 5k every 5 to 10 days depending on life. I send it off to my beta, who then spends another 5-10 days getting it into a readable state. I then receive and review the changes. Rewrite sections add or remove details as necessary. I mean it even though we managed to do this in seven days, it will slow down.

Many thanks to Jedi Goat who got to Beta this chapter twice. It is much improved thanks to her work.


	13. Chapter 13

13

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

A.N.

Shifting POV within this chapter.

Chapter 13

They apparated back to Tonks house. Waiting for them in the living room were Ted, Dora and Remus with Hermione and her parents. Luna knew her mum and dad would be along soon as well. It was a bit of an unusual crowd for an eleven year old's birthday. While it would have been nice to have some of Harry's school friends here, they would have been rather confused by some of the presents he was sure to receive. A trip to the local bowling alley had been arranged for the weekend for Harry's school friends.

Luna looked around the room and saw Remus watching her intently. In her haste to go check on Harry, she had forgotten who was around and who knew what. She'd have to ask Sirius to speak to him in the hope he would back off slightly.

Her attention turned to Harry and the air of excitement and joy that was palpable from him. Luna watched as Andy brought Harry a present to open. While not close enough to hear the exchange, she knew something remarkable had just happened.

Andy had handed Harry the gift and whatever Harry had said had caused Andy to collapse on him in tears. Luna along with most of the guests present congregated around Harry.

Harry turned to Ted. "I don't know what's wrong with her, dad; all I said was thank you, mum."

When Luna looked at Ted, he had a big goofy grin on his face. Sirius ruffled Harry's hair.

"Well done, pup, we'll make a prankster of you yet."

"This wasn't a prank, Sirius, I meant what I said!" There was a warning tone to Harry's voice.

"I don't doubt the sentiment, Harry, I just admire the delivery as well."

Harry received a good collection of presents. The stand out presents were from Sirius and the Tonks'.

"Before you ask, I did clear it with Andy," Sirius said handing over his present.

Harry didn't really need to unwrap the present to know Sirius had bought him a broomstick. They were remarkably hard to wrap and conceal the identity of the object.

"Good grief, Sirius," Remus exclaimed. "A Cleensweep 6. That's quite sensible for you. I was expecting a top of the line racing broom, since you are the man who thought it was a good idea to get Harry flying at his first birthday party."

Sirius coughed. "Well we've all had to grow up a bit since that day. Harry, this is a compromise present. Remus is right; I did want you to have a top of the line racing broom. This is closer to what you will use in Hogwarts flying lessons. So this is my concession to Andy, but I can buy you whatever I want if you get on your house Quidditch team. That's her concession to me. "

Harry smiled and thanked Sirius, but looked a little apprehensively at the broom.

"Harry," Ted called, "I'm afraid our present to you is harder to wrap than Sirius's broom. So you can either go to the dining room to collect it, or if you promise to close your eyes I'll bring it to you."

"I'll close my eyes."

"No peeking," warned Andy.

"I promise."

It was at times like this that Luna remembered that Harry was still a child. Almost all his contacts were either adults or Hermione, who was mature beyond her years. But seeing him sitting there, eyes closed, fidgeting in excitement, promising to be good, all reminded Luna that he really was still just eleven years old. She found herself worrying for him; if history repeated itself, he would be in school with Voldemort, who would take the opportunities as presented to him. Luna was drawn from her introspection by the gasps of those around her. Ted was bringing in Harry's present. Luna looked to see that Ted had a _Bubo scandiaca _and then was startled to notice she was crying at the first meeting of Harry and Hedwig.

Harry had opened his eyes, it looked for a moment as if they were going to pop out when he saw the owl in front of him. He tentatively reached out to touch her and the owl affectionately nibbled at his fingers.

"She's gorgeous, Harry, may I stroke her?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up from the owl to see everyone else was still in the room, he had been so lost in the moment. "Girl, can Hermione stroke you? She's a friend of mine and she will be gentle."

There was a pause then a nod from the owl who turned to look at Hermione.

"She's a clever one, truly one of Athena's birds. What will you call her? Girl won't work as a name."

Before Harry could answer, Luna did. "Hedwig, her name is Hedwig." It didn't really matter in the wider scheme of things if Harry chose a different name, but Luna just felt an emotional connection then and there. Harry and Hedwig just went together. Hedwig turned to look at Luna and then appeared to bow to her.

"Well, that's a name sorted then. Hello Hedwig, I'm Harry."

An hour later, as the party started to wind down, Sirius called Harry and Luna over. "I have one more gift to give Harry. It's part of a set, Harry, and I was planning to keep the other half for myself, but I think Luna will miss you the most. She can have the other half providing I can borrow it now and then." Sirius then produced a matching pair of mirrors. They were old and dirty, and the silver had peeled off at some points. One was just big enough to show Harry his whole face as he held it at arm's length.

"Your father and I created them, Harry, while we were in Hogwarts."

As Sirius was explaining to Luna and Harry how the mirrors worked, Selene came over to watch the demonstration. Luna could tell from the way her mother's eyes lit up that she would be working on a set herself before the week was out. She wouldn't be getting her hands on hers though. She now had a way to contact Harry almost instantly and there was no way she was going to lose that to her mother's curiosity.

Luna was still trying to decide what to tell Harry before he got to Hogwarts. She doubted that anything she had changed so far would have stopped Voldemort's attempt to get the stone. It was going to be time for a war council soon; she'd have to ask Sirius, Andy and her mum to advise her on what to tell Harry in advance.

Her mum came over to her. "Luna, what are you thinking about? You're miles away. Enjoy Harry's party."

"Sorry, mum, not miles – more like a month away. Trying to decide the specifics of what to tell Harry. I want him to develop natural friendships and have a normal time at school, but there are things that happened last time that I don't want to repeat."

"Not the time for this conversation. Remus is watching you like a hawk."

Luna looked up to see Remus glance away. He was going to be difficult, but she didn't really want to bring more people than necessary in on the secret.

The party wound its steady course and eventually people started to head off home. Luna had been unable to arrange a meeting with everyone she wanted advice from until the weekend.

Saturday afternoon arrived bright and sunny. Luna could think of a dozen things she would rather be doing than sitting around the Tonks' dining room table and kept casting glances outside the window while waiting for Sirius to arrive.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone, my previous meeting ran longer than expected." Sirius took a seat at the table, ignoring the pointed looks from everyone else present.

Luna actually knew where he'd been previously but suspected Andy would never believe anything but Sirius being a shiftless layabout.

"So, Luna, now we're all finally here," Andy glanced at Sirius again while speaking. "What do you want us for?"

"Harry's first year is coming up. It's the one I know least about, but in my timeline it was fairly momentous. The basic facts are, Dumbledore hides the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts. Voldemort possesses Quirrell in an attempt to get it. At the end of the year, Harry, Hermione and one other battled through Dumbledore's traps, confronted Voldemort and saved the day. But what should I tell Harry? Just because that happened last time, should I worry Harry with this knowledge before we know it's going to happen this time?"

"What is the first definite instance, the first major change that would happen if Voldemort doesn't make a move?"

"I've been wracking my brains out trying to remember this, mum. I wasn't there for any of this, so I'm having to go off stories I've been told. First thing that comes to mind is Quirrell trying to jinx Harry's broom during his first Quidditch game."

"Well," began Sirius, "ignoring the fact I get to buy Harry a racing broom, that's a little extreme as a first instance. Harry, Voldemort may or may not turn up this year. You'll know when he tries to kill you."

"Sirius, don't joke about that." The worry in Andy's voice couldn't be mistaken. "Please, Luna, is there anything else?"

"Possibly. I know that Harry's scar used to ache when Voldemort was near. While it was never mentioned to me that it happened in first year, it might have."

They spent the next hour discussing strategies. The conclusion was to give Harry a general warning for the upcoming year, but they would stay in contact via the mirrors. Luna didn't want to micromanage his life, and the two mothers understood the necessity of finding a balance between letting go and protecting.

As they parted, Luna asked if she could visit Sirius's home. Sirius flooed home first and then allowed Luna access to his house.

Luna arrived in the living room, dusting of ash from the floo.

"Is Remus here?"

"No, I have him off tracking down someone who can supply the Wolfsbane potion."

"Good. I made a mistake apparating in front of him. He keeps watching me as if I'm going to sprout an extra head."

Luna settled onto the sofa. "So how goes the campaign?"

"Well, I'm making progress on the minor Death Eaters. I'd like to nail Malfoy for something, but he is to all accounts a respectable business man. He has too much money to fall for the minor schemes. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, most of my ideas for Lucius involve where to hide the body. I could draw you plans of his secret dungeons, but it doesn't really help us. We'd need a full auror squad to raid the place, and they like to have a good reason before they bring down the wards and blow the doors off."

"If you know of any store rooms, we could tip off Arthur Weasley. He hates the man with a passion."

"No, Arthur merely dislikes him. I hate him." Luna's whole face darkened on her final comment.

"I have bad news for you, too. Umbridge. I've got nothing on her, or anything I can use against her." Sirius picked up some notes and read from them. "Delores Jane Umbridge, Hufflepuff, born 51. Ministry official. Blah blah. Short version is, ambitious but not talented. A natural toady, hitched herself to Fudge. Not liked by anyone, but no real gossip, no vices to pull at. Likes kittens, hates non humans. I've got nothing. Is she really worth going after?"

"In my timeline, she considered Harry to be damaging Fudge's image. Fudge went after Harry in the press, Umbridge was more direct and sent two dementors to Harry's house. She became Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and frequently used a blood quill on Harry. I want her, Sirius, find something and use it against her." Luna looked Sirius in the eyes; he looked away first and nodded.

"Okay, put like that. I'll use some of the same tactics I'm using against the Death Eaters. You do realise what will happen if we are ever caught, don't you?"

"Then we make sure we don't get caught. We have years to do this. Voldemort didn't return until the end of my third year, and that was because Peter helped him. We should have thrown that schedule back. I have other plans for this year. We can let some things simmer, but we need to track down the Horcruxes."

"What do we know so far?"

"Well, we have destroyed the locket. The diary is with Lucius, and if history repeats itself, he will slip it into Ginny Weasley's possession next summer. I hope so, anyway, since I don't want to have to fight my way into Malfoy Manor. The diadem is in Hogwarts; I can easily get that next year. The cup we know of. The ring we know nothing about it, or where it might be hidden." Luna listed off the items off on her fingers; she decided she would not tell Sirius about the possibility of Harry being a Horcrux.

"So where do we start? If it was me, the ring would be at the bottom of the deepest sea."

"Thankfully, that's not the way his mind works. All the others are at places of significance or with followers of his. The locket was in a cave he visited as a child and tortured other children there. The diadem is at Hogwarts, the place he thought of as home."

"It's strange to think of Voldemort as a child, but I suppose he was once. What do you know about him?"

"I know his name was Tom Riddle. Harry told me it was an anagram of I am Lord Voldemort, so that would make his middle name Marvolo. He grew up in an orphanage, but the village of Little Hangleton was important to him. I suggest we go for a wander there after Harry has gone to Hogwarts."

"It's not much to go on. The ring could be anywhere, you know."

Luna nodded and looked down. "I know, but we can't use that as an excuse to not start looking."

Luna headed off home not long after that. She reflected on her two meetings of the day: she wasn't being a hundred percent honest with anyone. Sirius didn't know Harry might be a Horcrux, her mum wasn't aware of all the plots she and Sirius had in motion or whom some of these plots were aimed at. Sirius didn't know about Crouch Junior, or he would have gone after him immediately.

Last autumn had shown that they could bring down Fudge if they tried, but destroying was easy; it was finding someone they could trust to rebuild that was difficult. Luna spent a few minutes laughing at the idea of Sirius as Minister of Magic. No, someone stable was needed.

The month of August flew by for Luna. Harry and Hermione had received a general warning for the coming year at Hogwarts, but were reminded that the mirror could be used at any time and to share any concerns they may have. Harry in particular had spent private time with all the significant adults in his life. Luna knew that Sirius in particular had asked Harry to pass on messages to different people and once Luna had the information out of Harry, she had approved of Sirius's plans. Luna suffered from nerves with Harry heading off to a possible meeting with a murderer. Still, everything that could be had been put in place.

Hermione had arrived one morning with the strange story of Sirius visiting her parents for a check-up. Once her mum had confirmed all his teeth were perfect, he had declared them the official Black family dentists. Swearing an oath that as they were now his vassals they and all the family were under the protection of the house of Black. Luna marvelled at the convoluted pureblood way of doing a simple thing. Hermione's mum just thought he was a little bit mad, which was also true.

The morning of September first dawned bright and clear, and after some negotiation Harry and Hermione's accompanying party had been agreed Sirius had been allowed to come, but only in dog form. He was still getting too much press attention whenever he went out. Rita Skeeter had filled up quite a few pages speculating about his ongoing romances, all fabricated.

Sirius had found it amusing; Luna had been reminded of Skeeter's annoyance level and a few other facts about the little bug.

Andy had just insisted they wanted to give Harry as normal a send off as possible and having Sirius there would put the press on alert.

So after some side along apparations and both Ted and Andy making more than one journey back and forth, the group consisted of Hermione and her parents, Harry with the Tonks and Luna with Sirius as Padfoot.

Luna watched Harry as he took in the platform and the bright red steam engine waiting to pull them up to Scotland. She felt a slight pang again at the thought of him leaving, and pulled him into a hug.

"Be careful out there. Remember to think before acting, and remember, it might be a little thing to you, but it might be the detail I need to know to warn you about something."

"I'll miss you too, Luna, thank you for all you've done. Imagine Vernon bringing me to this place."

Luna looked at Harry and marvelled at the changes she had managed to make. He was physically average for his age now. No longer the short wiry figure he had been. He looked at the world now through clear bright emerald green eyes, no longer hidden behind cheap plastic glasses held together with sticky tape. He noticed her stare and brushed his fingers self-consciously through his hair. He hadn't been entirely happy when Luna had turned up with some muggle hair dye and proceeded to give him auburn highlights. He had also been growing his hair on her recommendation. It was currently fashionable in both worlds for boys to have long hair. For pure bloods like the Malfoys or the Blacks, it was expected. In the Muggle world, the Brit pop scene was just starting and had adopted a long haired look, too. Luna just wanted Harry's hair different from how James had worn it. The resulting makeover left him looking far more like Lily's son than James's.

Then there was his personality: long gone was the timid boy out of his depth and willing to listen to anyone who showed him the slightest affection. Here was a boy who was loved and, apart from the odd lapse, acted like he knew it, not with arrogance, but with joy that he was so lucky. Yes, the scars of his past life could be opened at times with the wrong word, but he was altogether a much happier and healthier boy than he had been.

Luna left Harry to exchange hugs with Ted and Andy and pulled Hermione into a hug.

"Remember, you are the sensible one. Don't let Harry drag you off on wild adventures without a good reason. Remember, Hermione, books are written by people, and people are what?"

"Honestly, Luna, people are biased, books can be wrong. I know. If you get any more emotional, the Wrackspurts will get you. "

Luna looked at Hermione in astonishment, who was only able to keep a serious look on her face for a second or two before bursting into laughter.

The two girls drew some glances from passersby as they laughed at each other.

"When did you learn to prank people?"

"Not long after you and Harry became friends with me. We'll be fine, Luna, we're more prepared than the average pureblood, and Harry has the mirror to keep in touch."

After extended goodbyes, they headed towards the train. As they had arrived with plenty of time, they got to pick a carriage not far back from the prefects' carriage.

"Harry, I'm going to take Padfoot and head off now. " Luna put her head in through the carriage window to tell them. "They are some people arriving soon who I want to avoid. I know you two will cope. In fact, Hogwarts won't know what hit it when you get there. The boy who lived and the Black heir along with the smartest witch of her generation. You'll be fine. Talk to you tonight."

After Harry and Hermione had said goodbye Luna took Sirius back to the apparition point. She looked around her as she went; familiar faces were everywhere. She could hear the broad Scottish accent of Morag complaining about the stupidity of having passed Hogwarts so she could travel back up to it. The Patil family were having a tearful farewell.

Sirius gave a little yelp as her hand tightened as she held him by the scruff. She relaxed her grip but the intensity of her stare didn't fade.

"Sorry, Sirius, but that cow made my life hell for five years."

She watched Marietta rush off to greet Cho. Just as they reached the apparition point, she saw the Weasleys bustle in through the entrance from the Muggle station. Made it, she thought. If Ginny saw her, she would be drawn straight to Harry. Better to spend some time working on Ginny's crush in the coming year rather than encouraging her by letting them meet now.

Harry and Hermione were soon joined by others in their carriage. The first to join them was a pretty, blond girl with her hair in pigtails who introduced herself as Hannah. From the wide-eyed way she kept looking around at everything, Harry assumed she was a Muggle-born. Harry was just using his first name in introductions.

In the end, he had followed his heart rather than his political brain. Ted had paid quite a large sum to the ministry officials so the paperwork for Harry's name change wouldn't be completed until today. Besides he was the Black heir he didn't need to add the name to his, everyone who cared about such things knew what it meant.

So if anyone asked for his full name he would be Harry Potter-Tonks, but at the moment those in the compartment were happy with just Harry.

After Hannah they were joined by a girl with raven black hair who introduced herself as Megan. She seemed very slow to speak at first but after she thanked Hermione for moving up with a '_diolch_', Harry guessed she was a native Welsh speaker. She wasn't slow to speak, she was just running a translation in her head before she did.

Just before the train moved out, a boy who introduced himself as Anthony asked if he could join them. A red headed boy also glanced into the compartment but moved on. The boy who joined was immaculately dressed, as he sat down Harry noticed the pendant he was wearing.

"Shalom, welcome. I'm Harry."

Anthony eyed Harry warily at the greeting, but relaxed as Harry moved up for him. Harry explained he'd noticed the star Anthony was wearing and that Ted's father was from Cable St in the East End, and had been trying to teach Harry some proper culture, as he put it.

"Cable St, wow. Was he there?"

"He tells me he was just old enough to watch it. He remembers his mother emptying the chamber pot out of the window. He always says not everyone can fight but everyone should resist."

Once the ice was broken, the five chatted their way across the country, learning each other's history. Anthony was from Golders Green. Hannah lived in Kendal in Cumbria. Megan got increasingly infuriated as she worked her way up through villages and towns they might know.

"Gwyddelwern? Corwen? Llangollen – it has a famous International Music Eisteddfod? Wrexham?"

"I've heard of Wrexham," volunteered Harry. "They've got a football team."

"Right then, Wrexham. I live about thirty miles from there in a village that may as well have a fidelius charm on it."

"How do you cope living out there?" asked Hannah. "Kendal feels like it's miles from anywhere sometimes."

"My family are all magic users. It's just as easy to move a mile down the road as across the country as far as apparition is concerned."

Hannah frowned as she tried to take this idea in. They were interrupted by the sweets trolley's arrival. Hermione helped Hannah make selections. Harry smiled to himself as Hermione steered her away from the high sugar sweets, then promptly bought them himself.

It was not long after they had finished eating their pasties and assorted chocolates that a sad looking round faced boy came into their compartment.

"Sorry, I'm looking for my toad. Has anyone seen it?"

Harry stood to greet the new boy. "Hello, I'm Harry. I'm afraid I've not seen a toad. Has anyone else?"

After a round of negatives from the rest of the compartment, the boy made to leave. "Excuse me, but what did you say your name was?" Harry asked.

"Neville, Neville Longbottom."

Harry's eyes widened slightly as he took in the appearance of the slightly pudgy boy. "Pleasure to meet you, Neville, can I speak to you outside a moment?"

Neville nodded and followed Harry out into the train corridor. Harry closed the door of the compartment to give them some privacy. Harry glanced up and down the corridor to see if they were alone then sank to one knee.

"I, Harry, heir of the house of Black kneel before you in admission of guilt. A member of the Black house has caused you and yours injury. She has been cast out, and the Black house will take no retribution if you seek recompense for your injury from her. Know this also: we will do all we can to aid you if that is what you wish. I also declare on behalf of the Black house that you are owed a major boon that can be reclaimed at any time of your choosing."**.** Harry paused. Sirius and Andy had spent a long time wording the apology and helping Harry memorise it. He hoped Neville would say something soon as the formal pose was starting to make his knees hurt. He chanced a glance up. Neville was standing in front of Harry with fists clenched and tears in his eyes.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Nothing could be further from the truth, Neville. My godfather is Sirius Black. He has cast Bellatrix out of the family and swears an oath that he will do all that he can to help you. He asked me to make it formal because he said it would mean a lot to your gran."

Neville nodded. "Promise me you will tell no one about this."

"Neville, I don't know the full details myself. Sirius said it would be your place to tell me, not his. Right, how about I help you find that toad. "

Harry and Neville asked in the carriages that Neville hadn't yet been to, but no one had seen it. Harry recommended asking a member of staff once they reached their destination, which Neville reluctantly agreed to. Neville was invited back to his compartment but he begged off, as he would need to change soon and so headed off to where he had left his trunk.

Harry had only just settled back in his seat when the compartment doors open again. Standing in the doorway was Draco Malfoy, flanked by two walking wardrobes of boys. Harry looked at them both in turn: the one on the left looked ready to start shaving any day soon.

"Greetings, cousin, and welcome to our compartment. Do you want to come in?"

Malfoy's lip rode up in a sneer as he looked around. "No, cousin, I don't think I'll join you, but if you are looking for a better class of travelling companion, my compartment is in the next carriage."

"Well, thank you for the offer, Draco, but I invited these people to join me and it would be the height of bad manners to leave them once they had accepted my hospitality."

"Till another time then." Draco nodded his head and left the compartment, shutting the door behind him.

"What a yutz," muttered Anthony.

"That, Hannah, was a lesson in how the elite speak to each other when they hate each other but can't afford to go to open war," Hermione teased.

"I don't hate Draco. I admit most of my friends and family want to murder his father, but he hasn't done anything to make me hate him," Harry joked.

"Not yet, but he was coming close with that attitude."

"As usual, Hermione, you are correct. But I need more than an attitude before I can take action."

The rest of the compartment watched Harry and Hermione as they bantered back and forth. Eventually Megan interrupted them.

"Is that _drahaus_ _diawl_ related to you?"

"Second cousins, twice removed, or some such nonsense," answered Harry. "We're not close. That was only our second meeting."

The train was starting to noticeably slow down, so there was a rush to get their robes on. Harry and Anthony were asked to step outside by the girls so they could get changed.

"What are they doing in there? They are only putting on an extra item of clothing, not taking things off."

"You, Anthony, obviously haven't got any sisters. Never try to understand a women's logic when it comes to clothes or getting ready."

The train had nearly stopped when the girls allowed them back into the carriage. A voice bellowed through the train telling them to leave their trunks behind. Once the train had stopped they got on to a dark platform. A voice was bellowing from one side.

"Firs' years, firs' years this way, all firs' years over here!"

Well, thought Harry, this is it.

**A.N**

Some dialogue is lifted directly from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. By J K Rowling.

Many thanks to Jedi Goat who got to Beta this chapter. It is much improved thanks to her work.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Standard Disclaimer. I am not J.K. Rowling, I don't own these characters, I am not making any money out of this.

Chapter 14

Luna looked around at her first sight of the village as the apparition feeling wore off. Sirius shimmered next to her, taking his human form.

"Where are we? I was expecting to go to either your house or mine."

"Little Hangleton," Luna answered.

Standing before them, the village hugged the bottom of a hill. They could see a small pub with a thatched roof, picnic tables standing in front of it. A post office with its red sign stood opposite and half a dozen houses stretched out along the road. Two buildings dominated the village. On the top of the hill stood a manor house. It was now long past its prime: some windows were broken, others boarded up. The house had a general feel of age and neglect. The other building was an Anglican church with a gothic looking graveyard with more marble statues and gravestones than would be expected in the graveyard of a village this size.

"So where first? The pub?"Sirius asked hopefully.

"Graveyard. Let's have a look at which family names dominate this place."

They made their way to the church, which was open to the road but screened from most of the village by its yew trees, which where gnarled and showing signs of age. Sirius started to walk among the gravestones; Luna went to look at the trees.

"Some of these trees are getting close to middle age. The tall one there is just past five hundred years old."

"I thought you had to cut them down and count the rings to know a tree's age."

"That does work, but it is rather stupid to kill something to find out its age. It's much easier to just ask them. So what names are you seeing most of?"

"I'm getting all sorts: Warburtons, Lydiates, some Bryces, a few Jones, I've even got a Bracegirdle or two."

"Right, let's have a look at the bigger ones."

They both moved their way towards the larger marble gravestones. In this end of the graveyard the memorials were more ornate, but the graves more unkempt.

Luna found a marble headstone with the words Tom Riddle and underneath the dates 1905-1944. She froze and could feel the colour drain from her. This was where Cedric died; this was where Voldemort was reborn. She could feel the first tears dampen her face. Sirius rushed over to her.

"Luna, are you alright? You've gone as white as a sheet."

Luna turned to him sobbing. "I just realised where we are. In my timeline, this must be where Voldemort was resurrected. Harry was tortured here, and another boy killed. He carried out some ritual and regained his body. I just wish I knew how. My Harry never talked of that night. I know it gave him nightmares for years."

Sirius awkwardly gave Luna a hug. "I'll send Remus to the library at Grimmauld Place. His brain and those books should find some hint of what the ritual was. There are times when I worry about all we are doing, but seeing your face at times like this brings back what we are fighting to avoid this time. We will make it better, Luna; we will stop him this time."

"I hope so, Sirius. Well, we are in the right place. Voldemort's father's grave is here, so maybe the family home is around here, too. It's a bit of a long shot that we'll find the ring with the Riddle side of the family, but it'll give us somewhere to start. Right then, you get your wish. Let's go to the pub. You have got cash on you?"

"I don't normally carry it. We'll have to head back to my house so I can pick some up."

They checked to see if anyone was watching, then apparated to the courtyard of Black Cottage. They headed into the house. Luna went to the living room and settled onto a chesterfield then jumped when she saw Remus was sitting in the shadows near the fireplace.

"Hello, Luna, I take it Sirius is with you."

Luna cursed under her breath; she had been avoiding Remus for a month now. "Yes, he's just gone into his study. He'll be out in a moment."

"So are either of you going to tell me what's going on, and how you manage to do little things like double apparations?"

"My goodness, the old saying is right: Gryffindors charge in. A Slytherin would have tried to wheedle it out of me. As for what's going on, Sirius and I plan to take over the world, but it's all for the best."

Sirius chose that moment to enter the sitting room. "Remus, I have a new mission for you. I want you to go to Grimmauld Place and research the library there. I want that inquisitive mind put to good use rather than bothering Luna."

"No hello, Remus, how are you, Remus?"

"Well, you said you wouldn't take charity, so I need you out and about earning your keep. I'll take you there this time to speak to that damn elf and to key you into the wards. Come on."

Luna watched Sirius lead Remus out of the house. Sirius had been a little abrupt to Remus, she reflected, but she knew that Remus had been asked to let this subject drop already. Still, it was strange to think of Sirius being protective of her.

Sirius returned half an hour later and found Luna twiddling her thumbs.

"Sorry, I should have pointed out the library to you. Remus will be busy for some time. It'll take him weeks to open some of those books, the amount of magic they radiate." Sirius paused as he tried to find the right way of phrasing what he had to say next. "I think it would be better if you waited here and I went to the pub on my own. I can't really take a..." He hesitated. "Someone who looks your age into a pub."

"If you show me the library here, you can go. I'll get the elves to make a sobering potion for when you get back."

"Yes, dear."

"Don't even joke about it, Sirius. I know we're roughly the same age, but the idea of flirting is just disturbing."

"Sorry, Luna, I just treat you as the adult you are most of the time."

"Yes, except when you want to sneak off to the pub. Go on; remember you are there for information, not beer."

Sirius headed out to the courtyard and Luna made herself comfortable in the library. She worked her way through the magical zoology section, happily taking notes. Some of these books were old, out of print and hard to come by. She found one with an interesting theory on dementors. The author of this book suggested that instead of feeding on positive emotions, as everyone believed, they did the exact opposite. His belief was that dementors pulled negative thoughts to the forefront to feed on the emotions they produced, but positive feelings such as love repulsed them. This was why the patronus repelled them, as it was a purely positive force.

She would have to suggest this theory to her dad; he had shelved his research after drawing a dead end. She still wanted to find a way to kill them if it came to battle with the things.

She glanced over at the grandfather clock; it was now early afternoon. What was taking Sirius so long? She asked one of the elves to bring her a light lunch. Well, whatever was keeping him, she was a Ravenclaw in a library, so she was quite happy.

It was another hour before Sirius turned up.

"Sorry I was so long, but I have had quite a productive day. It turns out the house on the hill is still called the Riddle House. No one has ever lived there long after Tom and his parents were all found dead one morning. Apparently unharmed in any way, but quite dead."

"The killing curse, do you think?" Luna asked.

"Sounds like it to me. The caretaker, their gardener, was suspected but released. He has a chip on his shoulder and wouldn't give me the time of day. But I headed back to London and spoke to my agents, and it turns out the owner may be willing to sell." Sirius took a set of keys out his pocket. "So do you want to come on an inspection tour with me?"

"It's gone three o'clock now. I think we would be better off going in the morning when we have plenty of time. Besides, we have to be at Andy's soon, everyone wants to find out which house Harry and Hermione get sorted into. The feast starts at five so he might call in anytime after that."

"I don't know what the problem is. Harry is a natural Gryffindor, so that will be his house."

"Would you care to make a wager on that, Sirius?"

"I'd rather keep hold of my money, if that's all right with you. Gambling with someone who has future knowledge seems a little silly to me. Besides, I'll need it if I end up buying the Riddle Place."

"If you're running short for the war effort, I can always give you some investment tips."

Sirius's eyes lit up at that idea. "Let's head to my study for a moment. I get the feeling I may need to take notes."

An hour and a half later saw them sitting in the Tonks' living room, and Harry and Hermione waiting in an anti chamber of Hogwarts castle.

Harry had thought himself prepared for Hogwarts, but the first view over the Black Loch was breath taking. Hogwarts castle was monumental in scale and he had felt dwarfed upon arrival. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would return for them and he would be able to see for himself all the people and places he had heard about.

All the adults had been stubborn in not telling them how the sorting was done. Andy had given him the most information in that sorting was something that was done to you, not anything you had to do. He snorted with amusement at the red head talking to the tall black boy next to him, saying you had to wrestle a troll. As if anyone of them apart from Draco's bodyguards would stand a chance at that.

"The sorting ceremony is about to begin. Single file into the hall."

Harry along with the rest of the first years gasped in wonder at the Great Hall. There was so much to take in from the gold plates and bowls on the tables, to the floating candles, to the ceiling, which showed the night sky above them. That'll be an interesting effect when it snows, he thought. He was staring around him so much he walked into the boy in front of him who had stopped.

McGonagall placed a hat in front of them on a stool, which then burst into a song describing the four houses. Once it had finished and the applause had died down McGonagall stepped forward again.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah,"

Harry watched Hannah go to Hufflepuff, followed by another girl, Susan Bones.

"Boot, Terry."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Harry watched the sorting, taking note of the names of his future classmates and who went where.

Goldstein, Anthony went to Ravenclaw. Goyle, Gregory was a Slytherin. Now for the one he was interested in.

"Granger, Hermione."

Harry watched in anticipation as Hermione put the hat on and waited. As far as he was concerned, Hermione could only end up in one house.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Harry hoped he was clever enough to follow her. He didn't really mind where he ended up. Andy had told him enough that he would prosper wherever he went, but he hoped to be with Hermione.

Sometimes the hat took a long time to make a decision: Li, Su had the hat on for over a minute before the hat declared her a Gryffindor. Malfoy, Draco took seconds to get into Slytherin.

They were getting closer to him now. Twin girls Patil went to different houses. Perks, Sally-Anne, a pretty, flaming red headed girl, went to Hufflepuff. Maybe going to the 'Puffs wouldn't be so bad. Then it was his turn.

"Potter-Tonks, Harry."

It seemed Ted had gotten the paperwork filed and the sheet in McGonagall's hand was magically updating. Then his thoughts were interrupted by another voice.

"Hmmm, interesting. A good mind, courage to face the future, a loyal and true friend, and will to bend the rules to get his way. So where shall I put you?"

"Are you asking me?"

"I'll take you opinion into account, yes. Especially when you could go anywhere."

The hat called out his house; he made his way to the chosen table and sat next to the girl he was thinking about when he made his decision. His sorting got a cheer, which Harry was fairly certain was louder than anyone else's. Two red headed twins were shouting from the Gryffindor table, "We wanted Potter." Over and over.

Harry watched the rest of the sorting. Gryffindor got three in a row with Laura Rivers, Paul Runcorn and Eliza Spinks. Lisa Turpin joined him and Hermione at the Ravenclaw table. There were two left to be sorted now. Weasley, Ron went to Gryffindor and Zabini, Blaise...

"He'll be Slytherin," Hermione whispered next to him.

"How did you know?" Harry asked once she'd been proved right.

"There were forty of us to be sorted. It ended up ten to a house, split between five boys and five girls. Blaise could have been the friendliest, cleverest, most brave boy you'd ever meet without a spot of ambition, and by that time he would have ended in Slytherin no matter what."

They were interrupted by Dumbledore, who stood to say some nonsense words and invited them to eat.

Harry glanced up at the top table in annoyance and then back to the serving platters, which were now filled with food.

"So do you feel cheated with your sorting?"

"Oh, no, I was quite early. Still under halfway through. The hat narrowed it down to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and I chose here. I thought it might be better to fit in with a house that doesn't have a millennium old feud with another. How did your sorting go?"

"The hat told me I would do well anywhere, so I asked for here."

The duo widened the conversation to those around them. They had already spoken to Anthony on the train, but introduced themselves to the rest of their classmates.

Harry's attention turned to the top table. Hagrid he had had described to him; McGonagall he'd met. Albus Dumbledore was unmistakable. On the far end of the high table were two men: one wearing a turban had his back to him, the other, who Sirius referred to as that greasy haired git, was Snape. Snape, he realised, was watching him, but he couldn't place the expression on his face. He was the very picture postcard for conflict ranging from contempt to longing. While Harry was looking at Snape, he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his scar.

"What's the matter, Harry? Are you okay?"

"Scar hurts." Harry gasped the words out. Hermione looked worried before he reassured her, "It's gone now. It was just a sudden flash of pain. Before you say anything, yes, I'll tell Luna."

Hermione smiled shyly at him. He knew she hated the busybody tag most of all, but she did slip into that habit quite often. Before they could say anything else, Dumbledore rose to his feet. He gave a warning about the forest and reminded them magic was banned in the corridors. He then finished with a specific warning.

"The third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds for anyone who does not wish to die a painful death."

A few people around the hall laughed, but not many did. Harry and Hermione exchanged a meaningful look. An older boy sitting down from Harry asked if anyone would like to give him odds for Fred and George lasting the year.

After Dumbledore had led them in singing the school song, they followed a female prefect, who introduced herself as Penelope, to the Ravenclaw tower.

The entrance to the Ravenclaw common room was on the fifth floor. After going up a spiral staircase, they came to a door, which had just an eagle head knocker on it.

Penelope reached out and knocked the door. "Eagle, may I present the new first years."

The eagle's eyes opened to look at them; then it suddenly spoke.

"A box without hinges, key, or lid,

Yet golden treasure inside is hid."

Penelope turned to look at them. "Well, any guesses?"

Terry, standing just behind Harry, shouted out, "An egg!"

"Well answered," said the eagle, and the door swung open to reveal the common room.

Penelope led them into the light and airy room. "As you may have noticed, we have to answer a riddle to get in here. It is a bit of a trick. First years get quite easy ones, seventh years get very difficult ones. If you fail a riddle, the next one will be easier. The door will always make you work and think, but if you're bad at riddles you will get logic puzzles. Some people just get factual questions. In fact, most of us will in exam season. It's quite a good revision aid. A friend of mine from Gryffindor thought he would visit, well, you wouldn't believe the difficulty of the question he got.

Professor Flitwick will be along to introduce himself soon. When you want to head to your beds, the stairway is here." Penelope pointed out a doorway with a spiral staircase behind it. "Boys, first floor down, girls, first floor up. Whatever you do, boys, don't go up."

"Shall we wait for Professor Flitwick to turn up, or shall we call Luna now?" Hermione asked as they settled into a pair of high-backed chairs with a table between them.

"We call them now. It's getting later all the time. We don't want Sirius calling us while Flitwick is giving a speech." On saying this Harry took the mirror out of his robe pocket and placed it on the table in front of them. They both leaned over it and Harry called Luna.

Luna was sitting in the Tonks' living room making polite small talk with Emma Granger; she and Dan were as anxious to hear from Hermione as Andy and Ted were to hear from Harry. The mirror which was sitting on her lap gave a little vibration; then she heard Harry speak her name, first as a whisper, then progressively louder.

Luna picked up the mirror and looked into it. "Hello, Harry. Oh, I recognise that décor. Ravenclaw. Is Hermione there too?" Luna looked up to see Andy and Sirius exchanging money. Luna had a brief chat with Harry and Hermione before handing the mirror on to the Grangers. She watched the mirror make its way around the room as everyone took turns talking to the pair until it finally came back to her.

"So has anything significant happened?"

With some nudging from Hermione, Harry told them about the pain from his scar and Dumbledore's warning of death. Before Luna could say anything else, Harry said Flitwick was there, so he'd have to go. Luna nibbled at a lock of her hair as she worried over this. So history was repeating itself; Voldemort was active and the stone was at Hogwarts.

But what to tell Harry? It was only his involvement that prevented Voldemort getting his hands on the stone.

The more she considered, the more she realised there was only one option. She would have to tell Harry the truth and trust his instincts. Still, she had a nagging doubt that there had to be a better way.

Luna headed home to see Selene. Her mum's analytical mind might help.

o0o

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office going over his plans. Potter-Tonks. So that was why he couldn't find Harry for the last eighteen months. Ted would have done everything legally, but through the Muggle side of things.

That explained so much. Ted's push for Sirius's retrial. Albus regretted missing that boat, but at the time all his energy had been going into finding Harry. Sirius had let him know in almost every conversation they had since then that he did not forgive him.

At least the boy looked happy and healthy; Albus had feared that he would be permanently damaged by the abuse from the Dursleys.

Still, Harry was the child of the prophecy: the chosen one. It would be his destiny to defeat Voldemort for the last time. As capable parents as the Tonks were, and though Nymphadora had turned into a fine woman under their care, they were simply not prepared to raise the child of prophecy alone. Not to mention Ted ran a business from his house. It simply wasn't safe there. No wards he could set up at the house would be able to let Andromeda in while keeping Bellatrix out. No, Albus would have to get involved, he was certain of that fact. But how to get close to him?

He scanned the class list again. There was no one in Harry's house who came from families he trusted. Thankfully no one from dark families; he shuddered thinking how much work it would take to redeem this year's crop of Slytherins, but this year's Ravenclaws were neutrals.

No, his approach to Harry would not be through his school friends. So where did that leave him? Sirius would laugh in his face again. Ted and Andromeda? No, a couple who had defied the might of the Black family would be stubborn and not listen to his concerns.

His only option left was Nymphadora; she was currently in her first year of auror training. Alastor was in his last year now and had taken on a training role. Next year, he could get her partnered with Kingsley. Yes, that would be his way to approach the family to let them know that they were simply unprepared to raise a child like Harry without his help.

o0o

The next morning, Luna apparated to see Sirius at his home with her head was buzzing with ideas. Selene had suggested a solution, which, while probably illegal and taking some preparation, might just solve the problem of Voldemort, not just for this year, but permanently.

Luna and Sirius spent the morning thrashing out the details. They both decided that, while it was a high-risk strategy, the rewards outweighed the potential problems.

While Luna and Sirius planned, Harry and Hermione were glad to have found their way to the main hall for breakfast. After two wrong turns and a moving staircase, they understood Professor Flitwick's recommendation to get up early for the first week or two.

The two of them discussed their new dorm mates. Harry complained that Kevin, who had a bed next to him, snored. While Hermione was more discreet about her dorm mates, she confessed she was a little bewildered by the variety of their accents. Her dorm mates were from the highlands, York, The Potteries and Birmingham.

While they chatted, Professor Flitwick brought around the timetables for this year's classes. Hermione squealed in excitement and practically snatched the list from the diminutive professor.

"Easy, Hermione. I know you're excited, but there's no need to snatch," Harry chided her.

"Sorry, Harry, sorry, Professor, but I just can't wait to start lessons. Reading the books over the holidays was one thing, but putting it into practice will be another."

"It's quite all right, my dear. It seems the hat made the right choice in putting you into my house." Professor Flitwick moved on down the table, handing out the rest of the timetables.

"So," asked Harry, "what's first on the list?"

"Double Potions with the Hufflepuffs." Hermione watched Harry's face fall. "I'm sure it won't be as bad as Sirius claims."

Harry kept his opinion to himself. After Sirius had revealed that Snape had hated both Harry's father and himself, Harry had asked Andy and Ted for ideas for dealing with the man. Luna had also volunteered her opinion as well. Harry's problem was not that he didn't know what he should do, but that he had too many ideas.

Snape began the lesson by taking attendance. He paused when he got to Harry's name.

"Mr Potter-Tonks, our newest celebrity."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, you admit you are a celebrity? I hope you don't expect special treatment here."

"No, sir."

"Yes, sir, no, sir," Snake mimicked. "Indecisive, too. Well, are you a celebrity or not?"

"Well, sir, the press seem to insist I am, as do some people I've met. I don't feel I deserve special treatment until I've done something to deserve it." Harry paused and felt not just Snape's but the whole class's eyes on him. He pulled out a chocolate frog card. "Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and discovered the twelve uses of dragon's blood. That is earned celebrity. The thing I'm famous for was earned by Lily Potter." Harry met eyes with Snape there was a momentary flicker of emotion on his face at the mention of Lily Potter. "So, no, sir, until they can put something on my card other than 'didn't die', I don't think I'm a celebrity."

Snape quickly recovered. "Enough about you, Mr Potter-Tonks. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? Anyone"

Harry, Hermione, Lisa and Anthony all had their hands up to answer the question. Snape asked several more questions and while Harry put his hand up to answer most of them, Snape asked other members of the class. Snape begrudgingly awarded a point to Ravenclaw, as all the answers had been from that house, before he paired them up to begin making a boil removal potion.

Class continued without incident. Snape walked around the class, making scathing remarks about people's work. At the end of the lesson, Harry told Hermione he would meet her in the next class. Bracing himself, he went and stood before Snape's desk.

"Excuse me, sir, may I speak to you?"

Snape's eyes ran over Harry, taking in his green eyes, hair with auburn highlights shining through, face and build. Harry, thought was keeping a tight control over his emotion but saw the odd flicker of something in his eyes.

"Quickly, Potter-Tonks, I don't have all day."

"Well, sir, I've been told you knew my mother and her sister. I lived with my aunt before being taken into care and she hated my mother, so I've never seen any pictures of my mum younger than sixteen and those are group shots." Harry took a breath in, watching Snape intently. He had planned this meeting in his head but found now under his gaze that the polished words he'd practiced never came.

"So I was wondering if you owned any photos of her and if I might see them?" Harry again trailed off.

When Snape finally spoke, it was not with his usual harsh tone. "I do not think I can help you. The problem with being a child is you do not realise that all you will be left with are memories." Snape paused then returned to his normal self. "If that was all, Mr Potter-Tonks, I have work to attend to and you do not want to be late for your next lesson."

"Well, thank you anyway, sir." Harry headed out the door at a rush. The next lesson was Transfiguration at the other end of the castle. Snape was right about one thing: he didn't want to be late for McGonagall's lesson.

He reached Transfiguration just in time for the lesson. McGonagall started the lesson with a warning, then they had half an hour of theory. Finally, they were given matchsticks to turn into needles.

When lunchtime arrived, they made their way to the Great Hall. Halfway through their lunch, the mirror in Harry's pocket began to vibrate.

Hermione sniggered at Harry as he asked his pocket for five minutes. They both left the hall and found an alcove in the Entrance Hall to settle down.

"Luna," Harry called into the mirror. Hermione leaned in close so she could see as well.

"Hello, Harry, Hermione. After last night's call, it would look like history is repeating itself. I didn't just want to give you the bad news and leave you hanging. My mum and Sirius and I have come up with a plan, and it should solve the problem once and for all."

"That's good, Luna, but what is the bad news?"

"Voldemort is there at Hogwarts with you."

**A.N.**

I was toying with the idea of dragging out the house reveal until the end of the chapter but thought that would be silly.

Yes all my house's have five boys and five girls. Therefore the traditionally Ravenclaw Su LI has to go to Gryffindor.

I know Potions is taken as a joint class in canon as is Magical creatures and Herbology. Is this the norm for all classes?

Talking about the class list this is going to be a big note. The lexicon has one list of people in Harry's year the HP wiki has a different one. The closest we get from JKR is the page she holds up in HP and Me the documentary and some of those names change. Queenie Greengrass hmm. So aware that I am on my own here I will post Harry's year.

Some names are canon, some names we only get a surname briefly in that screen shot. But this is fan fic and not canon so this is who we have.

**Gryffindor**

Ron Weasley

Neville Longbottom

Dean Thomas

Seamus Finnegan

Lavender Brown

Parvati Patil

Laura Rivers

Eliza Spinks

Su Li

Paul Runcon

**Ravenclaw**

Padma Patil

Hermione G

Harry PT

Michael Corner

Anthony Goldstein

Terry Boot

Mandy Brocklehurst

Morag MacDougal

Lisa Turpin

Kevin Entwhistle

**Huffelpuff**

Justin Finch-Fletchly

Ernie Macmillan

Hannah Abbot

Susan Bones

Zacharias Smith

Wayne Hopkins

Megan Jones

Stephan Cornfoot

Sally-Ann Perks

Sophie Roper

**Slytherin**

Draco Malfoy

Vincent Crabbe

Gregory Goyle

Blaise Zabini

Theodore Nott

Pansy Parkinson

Millicent Bulstrode

Daphne Greengrass

Tracey Davis

Lilith Moon

My inspiration and major source for this list is Secrets of the Class list _by Diana Summers _an essay found on the Lexicon.

Many thanks to her.

I also have realised that some of these names have been taken from zArkhems fic HP and the Rejected Path. Paul Runcorn, Lilith Moon.

Some dialogue is lifted from the Philosophers Stone by J K Rowling. Some riddles are from The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien.

Thanks as always to Jedi Goat for her Beta work on this chapter. Any errors still here are because I changed a few things after she had finished. I'm only keeping to weekly updates because the last two chapters have been edited in less than 24 hours.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Standard Disclaimer. I am not J.K. Rowling, I don't own these characters, I am not making any money out of this.

Chapter 15

Hermione gave a shriek.

Harry hushed her and she mumbled an apology. Harry turned back to the mirror.

"Is this what happened before?" Harry's voice was clipped with annoyance.

Luna looked at Harry through the mirror. This was the most angry she could ever recall seeing him.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you warn us beforehand?" Harry cut off Luna before she'd had a chance to expand on her answer.

"How would you have felt if I'd warned you and nothing had happened? If we hadn't got these mirrors, I would have warned you before you left, but with these we can react to what's happening, not just what might or did last time."

Harry let out a noise that might have been of disgust or agreement. Sirius leaned in to talk to Harry.

"Don't worry, kiddo; he's not there for you. He's after what is in the third floor corridor. Give us a month or maybe two, we'll get it sorted. So don't meet him one on one or give him any opportunities like wandering in the forest at night, and you should be fine."

Harry was still not speaking, so Hermione's face appeared in the mirror.

"That's all very well to say, but where is…. he?" Hermione hesitated as she couldn't bring herself to say Voldemort. "How do we avoid him? Is he a ghost?"

Luna answered, "I take it Quirrell is wearing a turban?"

"Yes, he is. Are you telling me he's in the turban?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Don't let yourself be alone with him and you should be fine."

Harry took the mirror from Hermione. "I'm hearing a lot of might be's and should be's. Is there anything definite you can tell me?"

"If it does go wrong, Harry, your touch will cause him pain, possibly even kill him. That is a last resort, though. Trust us, Harry, we will deal with this. We don't want you to be in danger, so be cautious and try and be patient."

Luna and Sirius ended the call and looked at each other for a moment. Finally Sirius broke the silence.

"That could have gone better."

"It could have gone worse. He once trashed Dumbledore's office on getting bad news. He's emotionally more mature this time around than he was at fifteen."

"Trashed Dumbledore's office?" Sirius laughed, "You will have to tell me the full story behind that one."

Luna glanced down uncomfortably. "I don't think so."

"Another one of those best-not-to-know stories?"

Luna tried to think what to say. The only person she had spoken to of their death had been her mum. While that had been for a good reason, she tried to avoid such conversations whenever possible. Thankfully, Sirius himself came to her rescue.

"I think we need to fix what we can here and now and not dwell on a past that won't happen. So are you up for a tour of Riddle House?" Sirius took the keys out of his pocket and jangled them.

Luna readily agreed and they both apparated into the churchyard and walked through the village. They passed 'The Hanged Man' and followed the lane where it led up the hill.

The gates to Riddle House stood open and it looked like it had been many years since they had been closed. The path to the house was made from gravel and ran between lawns that, while short, were unevenly cut. As they neared the house, the border between the lawns and inner gardens were marked by tall rose bushes.

"Hey, what are you doing here? This is private property!" They turned to look and an elderly man with a set of shears in his hand came limping towards them. "You again. I recognise you from the other day. I told you before it's none of your business what happened here. I've a good mind to call the police."

"Mr Bryce, is it? Well, you see, I'm making this house my business." Sirius took a set of keys out of his pocket. "I'm here with Mr Cuthbert's full knowledge and permission. I'm considering buying this old heap and seeing if I can do anything with it. So, if you'll excuse me, my daughter and I would like to look around without any further interruptions."

Luna had been amusing herself deadheading roses, but looked up sharply when Sirius called her 'my daughter'. The gardener apologised and limped off, leaving them to continue their journey to the front door.

"Go on, I know you're just dying to say something."

"Yes, daddy," Luna said huskily.

"If I'm not allowed to flirt, you are never allowed to do that again, unless you promise to Obliviate me straight afterwards."

"Sorry, Sirius. That was disturbing, wasn't it?" By this time the two had reached the front door. The door was dark wood set with heavy iron studs; it was arched in a gothic style with stained glass panels to either side of it. The effect of prestige was mitigated by the dirt, dust and filth that covered every surface.

Sirius wrestled with the key in the door. Lack of use made it stick and not want to turn. After muttering a curse he reached for his wand.

"I wouldn't," Luna warned. "If there is a Horcrux hidden here, it will be trapped. Any use of magic might set them off. Dumbledore almost lost his hand when he found the ring, so let's be cautious, shall we? Two families have owned this place, not counting Cuthbert, so we know we can move around normally, but I'd only use magic in an emergency."

Sirius muttered under his breath and continued struggling with the key. After a final curse, the key turned and the door opened – then jamming before it had gone a quarter of the way open. Luna squeezed through the gap and moved what looked like a decade's worth of post from behind it so that Sirius could join her.

Once they were both in the entrance foyer, they had their first chance to look around.

Riddle House had once clearly been a grand building, but now the years of neglect was its most significant feature. The place had a damp rotting smell where the elements had gotten in through the broken windows. They could see nothing very clearly. The only light they got was from the windows, but the filth that covered them filtered it, and then the light was suddenly bright where a window was broken and hadn't yet been boarded up. Dust and cobwebs covered every surface. It was clear no one had been in this section of the house in years, as dust blanketed the floor and the stairs in front of them.

"Charming place. My mother would have loved it." Sirius broke the silence. "Look at the size of these cobwebs, Luna, if we come across an acromantula, you're on your own."

"Oh, Sirius, you're not scared of spiders, are you?"

"Spiders? No. Spiders the size of a horse that are resistant to magic? Yes."

"They are delightful creatures, and they have a very interesting outlook on life, if you can persuade them to stop trying to eat you and discuss philosophy."

"Personally, I was too busy running away and screaming to discuss philosophy with them. So which room do you want to go into first?"

"Oh, letting me go first, are you?"

"Seriously, yes. You've got the experience of a tracker and explorer that I haven't. Also, if anything goes wrong, I can stand behind you and cast spells over your head whereas if I went first I'd be blocking your view."

Luna cautiously led the way, each footfall stirring up little clouds of dust. While logic told her that two families had lived here since the Riddles, it was hard to not let apprehension fuel her movements. They slowly moved down the hallway to the back of the house, where cautiously pushing open a door, they entered into the house kitchen.

It was a breath of fresh air in comparison to the rest of the house. While still dirty, it was clear that the room was occasionally used. The dust had not built up to such extremes as the rest of the house. A path led from the back door to, when they followed it, a toilet.

"Seems Mr Bryce has a key for emergency use then," muttered Sirius. "So where next?"

"Well, now we've got both exits sorted in case you feel the need to run off screaming, we'll just go in room by room."

"What are we looking for exactly? Without using magic the ring could be in this room behind a simple invisibility charm."

"We are just casing the place, getting a feel for it. Something caused two families to move out quickly and no one else to want to live here. If we get a feeling that something is here, we hire ward breakers and let them move in and see what they can find. But for the moment we poke around, first the house, then the village. This is where you-know-whose father lived, but I know nothing about his mother."

"You-Know-Who? Luna, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I'm possibly inside a magical trap, and I want to avoid any key words. Yes, it was ridiculous, and yes, I'm being overly cautious. Make fun of me when we are back home tonight."

They made their way out of the kitchen back into the hall corridor. The first room on the left they came to, Luna paused and pulled her jumper sleeve over her hand before gripping the handle and entering. The room was bare of any furniture, and it was much longer than it was wide. The windows, if they had been clean and, in the case of one, not boarded up, would have looked over the formal side garden of the house. The bottom half of the walls were wood panelling; the top of the walls had numerous hooks imbedded in their white plasterwork to hang pictures on.

"I'd guess the dining room. Close to the kitchens so food is still hot, decent views of the estate to show off their wealth. Country house architecture seems to be the same for purebloods and Muggles. Although with house elves, purebloods don't care how far away we are from the kitchens."

Luna nodded to Sirius to let him know she had been listening and walked into the room. There were faint marks on the floor where table and chairs must have stood years past. She slowly walked the perimeter of the table, passing through the spaces the chairs would have been. She was near where the head of the table would have been when she felt a chill. No worse than that as if someone had stabbed her with an icicle, the feeling of cold cut her to the bone, ran straight through her guts and was trying to climb up her body. She swayed slightly, giving out a shudder, and could feel the colour drain out of her face.

"Oh, that's not a nice feeling." Luna looked around to see Sirius standing with wand drawn, alert but waiting.

"What happened?"

"I either walked through a spot where someone was murdered or where he made the Hor-thing. Either way, an unpleasant feeling. I guess the phrase that I've heard used was like someone walking over my grave."

Luna continued her trek around the room, shuddering twice more in quick succession. She went back and scuffed the floor in those three places and then went to different areas around the room, near the doorway where Sirius stood, next to the windows, by the fireplace. She then stood behind each of the three scuffmarks in turn. When she stood just behind the one that was the head of the table, she had a feeling that she would later call distilled malevolence.

She was warm, and she could hear voices talking just out of range so she couldn't make out what they were saying. Although they were talking quietly, she could hear the sharp tone that inferred an argument was taking place. Now where was she? It was comfortable and warm, slightly spongy under her; a bed, definitely a bed. So if this was a bed, whose was that man's voice she could hear?

Not Rolf's, no, certainly not. Strange she hadn't really thought of her husband for some months now. Not her dad's voice, definitely not. So what other man would be just outside her bedroom?

Sirius? Yes, that was Sirius arguing with – she paused to listen some more – Andy. Sirius and Andy were arguing outside her room. Most strange.

Sitting up and looking around, she realised this wasn't her room. Looking at the decor this was, she guessed, Black Cottage. She was in bed, in Sirius's house with Sirius just outside the door. Was it suddenly warm in here? Oh, well, time to find out what was going on.

"If you want to argue, feel free to shout. I'm awake."

Luna heard Andy tell Sirius to wait and she came in casting diagnostic charms. She bustled around, working her wand as she did. After fifteen minutes of work, she spoke to Luna.

"I'm pleased to tell you that you fainted. Sirius asked me to check for any effects of dark magic or curses, especially anything similar to the magic that lingers around Harry's scar. There is nothing; you just fainted. Now Sirius wouldn't tell me what you were up to at the time and I'm guessing you won't either, but remember, Luna, your body and you are at different ages and things you think you can cope with, your body may get the casting vote on."

"Thank you, Andy. Can I ask who put me to bed and what am I wearing?"

"Sirius floo called me at home in a panic. I found you out on the sofa here. I put you to bed and I transfigured your clothes into those pyjamas you're wearing. I'll change them back for you if you want. I'm guessing your parents might ask the odd question if you came back home in pyjamas."

"Please. I'll need to speak to Sirius soon as well, and I'd rather be dressed when I do it."

Andy cast the spell over Luna's clothing and helped her to her feet. "You are going to be light headed for the rest of the day. It's possible that standing up suddenly might bring on another fainting spell. When you have time, I'd like you to come and visit me and we can review your diet. Remember, you are a growing girl, and I also warned you about over using magic as well, which I guess you have been ignoring."

"Yes, Andy. Sorry, Andy."

"Don't give me that cheek, you. You have been spending too much time with the flea bag out there. Someone in this little conspiracy has to be the responsible one."

"Speaking of responsibilities, I gave Harry some bad news this morning, which I need to tell you too. History is repeating itself and Voldemort is in Hogwarts with Harry."

Luna then told Andy of her conversation with Harry this morning and recapped the major points of what had happened last time, as far as she knew.

Andy found herself sitting by the end of Luna's recap.

"So that thing is with Harry, Hermione and all those other children right now?" Luna nodded. "So what are you doing about it?"

"We have a plan, and we're putting it in to motion. It will get Voldemort away from the school before Halloween. If we are lucky, it might solve things permanently."

"I'm guessing you're not going to tell me about it, either."

"Well, if things go badly wrong, everyone involved will end up either in prison or possibly dead. So as Harry's just gotten a stable home life, I'd like it to stay that way, so we're keeping you out of the loop on this one."

"Fine, but who's your check and balance on this? Not that I'm saying I don't trust you, it's just I don't trust Sirius."

"He is a little unstable at times. If it makes you feel any better, the original idea came from my mum."

"Okay. Selene, I trust. So, I'll leave you to tell her about your fainting fit and I'll leave Sirius and you to plot the downfall of civilisation as we know it. I guess Sirius is listening at the door right now. Remember, go cautious on your magic use, especially over the next few days, unless you enjoy unexpected fainting fits."

"On more thing, Andy, please, I am feeling a little light headed. Could you help me down stairs to the sitting room? You're right, Sirius and I need to do some plotting, and I'd rather not do it in a bedroom."

Once Andy had left, Luna and Sirius found themselves sitting opposite each other in the sitting room. Luna was drinking a warm sweet tea and was staring into the steam rising from it. The silence hung uncomfortably between them. Finally Luna spoke.

"Sorry about that, Sirius, I made a mistake back there. I underestimated what I would find and I was wrong about what I could handle while I'm still in this ten year old body."

"What exactly happened? One moment you were walking around the room, eyes half-closed, letting out the odd exclamation – the next you collapsed like a puppet whose strings were cut."

"I was practicing a Native American hunting technique. It is the opposite of Occlumency. It opens up your senses to all that's happening around you; you can even see the wind patterns start to move, start to taste the scents of animals on the wind. It also opens up your emotions to the world, which was why I was able to sense the three murders in that room. What I hadn't thought through was what would happen when I walked into the spot where he made his Horcrux. The feeling of evil is the beyond words. This is someone who deliberately broke apart his soul. The murders in comparison were warm acts. But doing that to yourself is just indescribable. My body decided to take the rather sensible precaution of just shutting down for a while."

"Right, let's think how we can use this information. First things first, I'll let Cuthbert know I'm interested in the property but want to send in some surveyors before I commit. Then we either get some ward breakers to go over the building, or I go to the goblins and get them to send some of the team they have working on the cup, remarkable slowly I might add, to have a look at the spot a Horcrux was created to see if that gives them any ideas."

"Do you know who is working on the cup?"

"They did give me the team details as I'm effectively paying their wages, but without looking it up the only name that sticks in my head is Bill Weasley."

"He's a good man. I instinctively trust him after my last lifetime."

"Well, I need to see Arthur soon. Once Harry has passed my message on to Hagrid, I'll have an excuse to go and visit him. Besides, if I heard Andy right, you're grounded for a couple of days anyway."

"Not grounded, banned from magic and need to take it easy. She also wants to check my diet. Come on, help me to the floo. I guess I best go get shouted at by my mum."

* * *

><p>Harry and Hermione sat at the Ravenclaw table, enjoying the evening meal when Penelope sat down opposite them.<p>

"So how was your first day at Hogwarts? I saw your timetables, and double potions would not be my choice for first ever lesson."

"It was fantastic," Hermione enthused. Harry grunted and continued to eat.

"Well, I see a slight difference of opinion there."

"Oh, he enjoyed the lessons; he's just got a bit of a personality clash with a certain teacher."

Harry's eyes widened as he looked at Hermione. Finding out the man who had tried to kill you when you were eighteen months old is a teacher at your school went beyond a personality clash.

"Oh, Snape can be a bit of a git sometimes, but you should hear how he treats the Gryffs." Penelope jumped to the conclusion Hermione had intended for her. "You have Astronomy tonight, so I suggest you head to the dorms early and try and get an hour or two before the lesson, then sleep in late in the morning. You'll have no lessons before eleven to make up for the sleep you'll miss tonight. Anyone with an Astronomy class is allowed a late serving of breakfast the morning after. How does the rest of your timetable stack up? Do you still have the traditional Friday afternoon off?"

Harry nodded his agreement. He might have been in a bad mood, but there was no point in taking it out on someone who was obviously trying to be helpful.

"I miss the first year timetable; look at all those free periods and long weekends. Mind you, I've had a seventh year tell me my OWL year is easy compared to hers, so just enjoy it while you can."

Penelope excused herself and started passing on the same advice about an early night to Lisa and Mandy further up the table.

"So, Harry, any plans for your long weekend?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Sirius has asked me to visit and pass a message on to Hagrid, but no, apart from that I'm free. I also have a large amount of brooding and worrying scheduled. Do you want to join me? In the visit, I mean. I find brooding is best done as a solitary pursuit."

Hermione laughed at him. "Yes I'd like to join you in the visit. What changed your mood around?"

"Penny's visit. I was rude to her when she was being helpful, and I suddenly realised that although I'm upset with Luna, I should do my best to be polite to those who have done nothing to deserve my bad mood.

So, my Lady Hermione, I apologise unreservedly for you having to put up with a storm cloud for the afternoon."

"Your apology is accepted, Lord Black. Do it again, though, and I'll tickle you."

"Come on, let's hence forth with to the owlery to send the noble Hagrid a note requesting a visit for high tea."

"Hence forth with? Harry, I must sentence you to reading more Shakespeare if you're going to mangle the language like that."

Harry and Hermione enjoyed their first week at Hogwarts. The lessons were variable in quality. Charms and Transfiguration quickly became favourites for both of them. Harry was disappointed with History; it had always been his favourite subject at junior school, but the ghost who taught it here easily made it the most boring lesson he'd ever sat through. He would have found Herbology interesting enough if it wasn't for the fact that he had to verbally fence with Draco for most of the lesson; it was the one lesson they shared with the Slytherins, and he would have enjoyed it more if he didn't have to watch every word he said. Astronomy could easily become a favourite, too. Harry was far too much on edge during Defence to have an opinion on it one way or another, but the general opinion from the rest of the class was that it was rubbish and that Quirrell could barely be understood.

* * *

><p>Friday afternoon was clear and bright, and Harry and Hermione made their way across the grounds to Hagrid's hut that was just on the edge of the Forest. An oversized crossbow leant against the wall next to a set of waterproofs.<p>

Harry knocked on the door and jumped back at the barking and shouting that came from within.

"Back, Fang, back I tell you." The door opened a crack. "Hang on a sec. Back, Fang." There was the sound of a scuffle inside, then the door fully opened and Hagrid stood before them, holding onto the collar of a black boarhound.

"Come in quick before the daft thing does a runner."

Harry and Hermione made their way into Hagrid's house and looked around. There was an unmistakeable smell of game and dog to the place. Hagrid lived in a one-room house; his large bed was to one side, a kettle steamed away on the hearth and the scent of game obviously came from the meat hanging from the ceiling.

"Hello, Mr Hagrid, I'm …" Harry was cut off by a booming laugh.

"Don't call me Mr. Hagrid's good enough fer me and I know who yeh are, Harry. Yer Lily and James's son, that's unmistakeable. Yer mum's eyes and hair sit well on yeh, and yeh've got yer dad's other features. The one I don't know is this young lady. Muggle-born, I'd say, or I'd be able to make a guess at yer parents. Nothing wrong with Muggle-borns. Harry, yer mum was one and once she found her feet she was the smartest witch in her year by quite a long way."

"Well, Hagrid, may I have the pleasure to introduce you to Hermione Granger, star of Ravenclaw and already on her way to proving herself the smartest witch of her year." Hermione blushed slightly at his introduction and took a rock cake to cover her embarrassment. She attempted to bite it but found her teeth in danger of breaking on it.

They chatted pleasantly with Hagrid about lessons and how their first week had gone. They were surprised that he was ruder about some of the staff than they were. Harry also turned the subject around to his parents, as he did this with everyone who knew them so he could get a well-rounded description of them. He didn't really believe anyone could be as perfect as Sirius made his dad out to be.

They spent some time listening to Hagrid telling his stories about James and Sirius in school when Harry changed the subject again.

"Hagrid, Sirius asked me to check to see if you still have his bike. He really misses the old girl and would like it back. Those are his words, not mine."

"I've got it, but it's well hidden in the forest. He should know that sort o' thing's illegal now"

"He's told me that he plans to visit Arthur Weasley to check to see if the bike falls within the law or outside."

"Well, if he wants t'come and get it he can but I'm takin' no responsibility if he ends up in Azkaban again."

"Thank you, Hagrid." Harry took the mirror out of his pocket and called Luna. Harry had received an owl earlier in the week from Andy that had mentioned that Luna had been taken ill while out with Sirius. Harry had called her on the mirrors and gotten an explanation out of her over what had happened. His anger with her had evaporated away once he realised that Luna and Sirius were both out and about putting their lives on the line for him, leaving him feeling quite childish over his earlier anger with them both.

"Luna. Luna, are you there?"

"Yes, we both are. How are you?"

"We are with Hagrid. You can tell Sirius that he still has his bike and has kept it safe." Harry could hear a shout of joy from his mirror that told him Sirius had heard him already.

"Sirius wants to know, do you have any lessons left today?"

After confirming they were free for the rest of the day, Sirius's face popped up in the mirror. "I'll see you in five minutes, pup."

True to his word, five minutes later there was a knocking on Hagrid's front door. Once Hagrid had gotten Fang calmed down, he opened the door. "Well, bless my soul, Sirius Black." Hagrid's face clouded over. "I hope yeh can forgive me fer all those things I said about yeh when I thought yeh'd done it."

"Of course I forgive you. Just about everyone thought I'd done it, so if even my best friend thought I was guilty, what chance did you have?"

"Thanks, Sirius. Takes a great man to forgive. And who's this standing behind yeh? Let's see now: blond hair, grey eyes. Yer Selene's daughter, so that must make yeh a Lovegood."

Harry and Hermione crowded around Luna to hug her; they had both been worried about her fainting attack and were pleased to see her so well. Luna had not shared the full details with them, but they were both smart enough to see the facts she wasn't telling them as well as the ones she did.

They listened to Sirius and Hagrid chat away like old friends before Sirius pressed Hagrid for information on his bike.

"It's a few minutes' walk into the forest. I'll take yeh, Sirius, but the kids'll need to stay here. I can't be responsible for takin' a group o' first years and younger into those woods."

"Are they really that dangerous?" Hermione asked.

"Dangerous, no, but they're wild woods. Things live in there that don't live by the same rules as you or I. They mostly let me come and go as a favour to Dumbledore, but they wouldn't be happy if they thought I was bringin' in large groups. I'd have some explainin' to do if the centaur herds found me with all you lot. So it's easier if yeh wait here. We'll be back soon. Fang will wait with yeh, yeh'll be safe enough."

Hagrid led Sirius out to the forest, Sirius was practically bouncing with excitement at seeing his bike again.

The trio chatted away, going over their first week. Luna was pleased at Harry's handling of Snape.

"Harry, did you listen to that record you bought me for Christmas?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, I just wondered if Roger Waters had ever met Snape, that's all. He describes him perfectly."

"What do you mean, Luna?" Hermione asked.

"_When we grew up and went to school _

_There were certain teachers who would _

_Hurt the children any way they could _

_By pouring their derision _

_Upon everything we did_

_And exposing every weakness _

_However carefully hidden by the kids_."

.

"That's horrible, Luna. Harry, did you really buy that for Luna?"

"I didn't know. I just knew Luna liked Pink Floyd. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay, Harry. I quite liked the album once I got over the first time I listened to it. Just a shame Snape's not married."

Harry was about to speak when he paused to listen. "What's that?" There was a roaring noise approaching them and they could just make out a scream as well. Both noises were getting louder and seemed to be rushing at them.

"Wands out," said Luna. "Whatever it is, it's here."

**A.N. **

Wow there where days I thought I'd never get that chapter written.

I've had neither writers block nor have I any intention to abandon this thing but I find it hard to even look at a pc screen when I've been ill.

Wasn't all bad though I did have quite a fun delirious dream that will make a great scene for Bella at some point, although it leads me to some conclusions.

One is that I have a warped imagination.

The other conclusion will be I'll have to up the rating to mature at some point for violence or tone down the details my brain gives me.

Lyrics are taken from "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" from The Wall by Pink Floyd. All Lyrics written by Roger Waters.

Thank you for reading.

Again many thanks to Jedi Goat for spelling, punctuation and making Hagrid sound like Hagrid.


	16. Chapter 16

16

Standard Disclaimer. I am not J.K. Rowling, I don't own these characters, I am not making any money out of this.

Chapter 16

Harry rushed to the front window.

He was just in time to see a large motorbike roar by overhead, and the scream they had been hearing was now recognisable as one of pure joy from Sirius. Harry watched as Sirius cornered in front of Hagrid's house, lost altitude, touched down and roared past on the grass in front of the house before finally coming to a halt at the side of Hagrid's house.

Sirius dismounted and walked up to the house with a huge grin on his face.

"I've missed that bike. Until I'd got on her, I'd forgotten quite how much. Can I come in?"

Harry looked around him at the house. He'd expected Fang to be going wild, but it turned out the boarhound was doing its best to burrow under Hagrid's bed. The two girls had wands drawn and had moved to different windows. He was unsure of his and Hermione's abilities if it had come down to spell casting, but Luna looked all business.

Luna nodded, "Let the fool in."

Sirius entered the house, his grin not slipping in the slightest. "Hagrid should be along soon. I took the quick way home."

"Sirius Black, if you think I'm riding that thing all the way to Devon, you have got to be more insane than I think you are."

"Don't worry, Luna, I once tried that myself and I give up after 4 hours. Warming charms only go so far. Once Hagrid gets back, I'll show off some of the bike's more unique features and why not even Ted thinks I'll run afoul of the laws on Misuse of Muggle Artefacts."

Hagrid came puffing out of the forest a few minutes later. "I see someone ain't grown up yet. I didn't expect yer to ride that thing over the treetops. Where've yer left it?"

"Next to the log pile. Do you want to come and see me show it off?"

"If yer don't ride that thing on the grounds again, I'll come."

Sirius led a little procession around to the lean to under which Hagrid kept his log pile.

"There she is: my Bonnie. She is modelled after a 1969 Triumph Bonneville." Harry looked around at Luna and Hermione to see if the words had any impact on them. But the girls looked unimpressed.

In front of him stood a motorbike: the wheels were chrome and looked to be quite fine wire; the forks shone as they, too, were chrome and looked well polished. The front mudguard was silver. The petrol tank was russet with the word Triumph clearly visible on a white flash. The sunlight caught the chrome of the engine and the exhaust pipe as Sirius wheeled it out.

"Cost me the best part of my year's allowance as Black Heir."

Harry whistled in appreciation of how much that was. "But no motorbike could cost that much money, even with having someone charm it so it could fly."

"Oh, she doesn't just fly. Luna, could you get on?" Luna struggled to get on the bike at first, but the bike seemed to shrink under her, so she was then sitting comfortably. "Now you try, Hagrid." This time it was more obvious as the bike looked like a balloon inflating as it grew to match Hagrid's size.

"Automatic resizing charm."

Sirius swapped places with Hagrid and started the bike. The engine roared to life then went deathly quiet.

"It can run noiselessly and," Sirius pressed another button and disappeared, "invisibly," he said, coming back into view.

"The back panniers are charmed to hold just about anything. There should be two helmets in them that also resize. But the beauty of this bike is the thing that will stop Arthur from impounding it for eternity."

Sirius produced his wand and touched the bike with it, muttering an incantation. Suddenly Sirius was no longer standing in front of a bike but three broomsticks. They were held together in a pyramidal shape with one at the top and two below it. The top one had a set of handle bars with buttons grafted onto it.

"You see, it's not a Muggle bike with spells on it, but a modified broom stick charmed to _look_ like a bike. I know full well it's the only one like it because after I had it built, I bought not just the bike but the magical patents for most of the spells that keep it working." Sirius took his wand and touched it against the broomsticks and they returned to the appearance of a bike. He then said another incantation and the bike shrunk until it was the size of his hand. He picked it up and put it in his robe pocket.

"Don't worry, Luna, we can apparate back to your house quite easily without having to ride the thing back to Devon."

"I thought you couldn't apparate inside Hogwarts grounds," said Hermione. "At least, that's what all the books say."

"As far as I know, they are right, but we are only a couple of minutes' walk from the ward boundary. I promised Ted I'd get this bike down to Arthur as soon as I picked her up. I also promised Selene I'd not keep Luna out and about too much, so we will have to be going quite soon."

Harry and Hermione shared goodbyes with Sirius and Luna. Sirius reassured them again that they had a plan in place for Quirrel and not to worry; then he and Luna walked off in the direction of the gates.

Harry and Hermione headed up to the castle with their pockets loaded down with rock cakes, pleased to have seen Sirius and Luna again.

Sirius and Luna, meanwhile, apparated into the grounds of The Rookery.

"I hate being taken side along. Once you stop treating me like I'm likely to break any moment, the happier I'll be."

"Well, if your mother wasn't an expert at charms and already in a bad mood with me, I'd be happy. Do you know what I've done to annoy here this time?"

"Out of curiosity, how many times have you annoyed her?"

"Well, I know the first time was the infamous Ravenclaw underwear raid when she was a prefect. She wasn't happy retrieving her bra off the astronomy tower. Now I'm bringing you home after you fainted, but the last few visits before that, I could tell she wasn't happy with me."

"It's not you as such, but the mirror you invented."

"Are you telling me she is having problems making those? James and I made them in our sixth year."

"Oh, she made a pair in about half an hour after seeing them. It's improving them that's causing her problems. She wants to get to the point where we all carry them: you can call for one person, and the others stay quiet. At the moment she's linked ten together, but you call on one and all nine go off simultaneously."

"There are times when that could be useful. If you were under attack, you'd want to call everyone at once, not one at a time. I'm also sure Hermione and her parents would love a pair of them."

"Spoken like someone who doesn't understand my mum. If you told her that, I'd recommend ducking straight afterwards. She will finish what she plans to do. Nothing else is acceptable in her eyes."

"Will it be safe for me to come in? I'd like to call the Weasleys before I visit. It's Arthur I want to see. Spending time alone with Molly would test my patience to the limit."

"Ginny will be there, too."

"Well, you haven't really painted a flattering picture of her, either. I'll call, and if Arthur's not home I'll go for a little ride on the bike. I take it you don't want to come."

"I'm still playing the part of a little girl with the Weasleys, so it would be best if I don't turn up on the back of the infamous Sirius Black's bike."

"I thought I was the famous Sirius Black."

"Only in your head. There are some days when you're barely notorious. Anyway, you'd best get in and make the call."

Five minutes later, Luna watched Sirius roar off on his bike. Letting out a little sigh, she turned around to find Selene standing behind her.

"You were flirting, Luna, and I'm not overly happy with that sigh, either. I think we need a little talk, dear."

As Luna and her mum went back into the house, Sirius rode off on his bike. He kept her low while travelling across the Lovegoods' grounds, except when he came to the boundary fence; that, he jumped with no apparent effect. He then rode the lanes of Devon far faster than a normal bike could. He was flying, not riding, so didn't have to worry about grip or road conditions. His only concerns were speed and inertia as he manoeuvred the lanes between The Rookery and The Burrow. He wasted an hour getting used to the feel of his Bonnie again; she handled like neither a motorbike nor any broomstick he'd ridden.

It was hard not to feel young again while riding. In that moment, only he and the bike existed. His mind turned back to the summer before his seventh year when he'd first got it. He had felt invincible in those days. They all had: the Marauders with Lily could take on the world. They would have stood shoulder to shoulder and spat in Voldemort's face before they let themselves be beaten down.

The foolishness of youth. What had they come to? James and Lily, dead. Peter, too, his fate brought about by a meeting with a Dementor as ordered by the Ministry his body had not survived long after his soul was taken.. Remus and he were working on their friendship, but the inequality of their places in society pulled at them. Remus saw Sirius's job offer as charity, no matter how he dressed it up. Sirius telling Remus to back off from Luna hadn't helped, either. Where did this leave Sirius? Harry was a good kid but resembled his parents so much that it was like a physical blow to look at him some times. But he was just a kid, and Sirius was sworn to do all he could to keep him safe.

This led his thoughts to Luna, that strange girl – woman - who he spent more time with than anyone else. He loved the time they spent together; she gave him a purpose for the future, not just regrets over his past. She, unlike anyone since James, could combine that mixture of deadly seriousness and fun that he loved. But that relationship scared him more than anything.

Sirius sighed to himself. He'd hoped the bike would bring some fun back into his life. He'd had more fun in Azkaban than he had thinking of his past.

The Burrow was in sight; time to get ready and put on his Lord Black persona, especially if he had to talk to Molly. Sirius had never had a close relationship with his mother, and Molly's insistence to treat everyone younger than her as little children set his teeth on edge.

He approached the gate to the property, cast Alohomora and rode slowly through and up to the house, avoiding the chickens as he went. The bike was a perfect copy of a Muggle bike, so he revved the engine once before switching it off. The sound did what he intended and Arthur rushed out of the house, followed by Molly.

"Sirius - I mean, Lord Black - welcome to our home. Is that your motor bicycle? Fascinating things, amazing they stay upright with only the two wheels."

"Arthur, Molly, I'm quite happy to be Sirius. It's about the bike I've come to see you, Arthur. You're head of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts?"

"Yes, I am. Do you think someone has done something to this Muggle machine, then?"

"Well, yes, and for that matter, no. It would take too long to explain. Let me show you."

Sirius jumped back onto the machine and brought the engine to life. He moved off slowly at first, then leaned back and the bike left the ground. He performed a lazy figure eight between the chimneys and then brought the bike down to the ground and rolled to a stop next to Arthur.

"Sirius Black, if you think you can come to our house and show off such a thing to Arthur and expect him to turn a blind eye, you've picked on the wrong man!" Molly began.

"I have no expectation of Arthur turning a blind eye to anything, Molly, but allow me to finish my demonstration.

Arthur, as you've seen, it flies; it also has other charms, so I can go about silent and invisible if the need arrives, but I still believe it to be legal for one reason." Molly snorted in disgust but Arthur's eyes were wide with delight. Sirius took out his wand and touched the bike, which then changed in front of them to its broomsticks form.

"You see, this isn't a Muggle device at all, but a type of broomsticks charmed to look like a Muggle bike."

"Yes, I see. That is quite a different matter." Arthur's enthusiasm dimmed now that he was looking at somebroomsticks. "The department of Experimental Charms might have something to say, but it wouldn't run afoul of my department."

"All charms on this either had been approved by the committee when I had it made or are just the standard charms you would find on an average broomstick."

"Well, then, they should be no problem. What I would recommend, though, is you visit me at the office and I'll draw you up a permit for it. I could see some Auror impounding it if they saw you flying on it when you had

It looking like a motor bicycle."

"Thank you, Arthur. Now that we have that out of the way, I'd like to speak to you as head of your family. Can we take a walk around your land?" Sirius and Arthur headed out towards the woods that the family used for Quidditch practice.

"We are distantly related, Arthur, you know. Second cousins once removed. Septimus Weasley married Cedrella Black. It was the worst thing that could have ever happened to the Weasleys.

"The whole decline of your family started there. I have been going over my families records. There wasn't a loan that your family took out that my family didn't put pressure on the lending house to call early or to increase the interest so it became unaffordable. It was the way the Blacks worked when they had a target in their sights: they set out to ensure they had no influence or wealth. I would guess they used less legal methods, too. A crop failure at the time when you were really in need of the money would be down to agents of the family cursing your land. I don't know everything that was done, but I know and I've seen enough of the way my family worked to hazard some guesses.

"Now, I'm Lord Black, and I'm trying to set right the past. I've taken Andromeda back into the family and cast out Bellatrix. Is there anything I can do for you? My first thought is to buy this land from you and then let you rent it back at a below market rate."

"Lord Black, thank you for the offer, but I am a Head of a Department, my two oldest boys are pursuing their dreams. While I remember the old house from my childhood and how this land used to be, we are not in a situation where we need charity."

"Arthur, this is not charity but restitution. The Blacks tried to destroy you using any means at their disposal. I am not singling you out here. While I won't tell you who else, other families have had similar offers made to them. You have four children at Hogwarts, soon to be five: at least let me pay their tuition fees. Your honour won't allow you to take charity, I understand. My honour and the honour of what house Black is now becoming won't allow me to let this stain stand." Sirius took on a sly expression. "Besides, if you say no, I guarantee your kids will be getting unexpected and expensive Christmas presents. You have two boys on the school Quidditch team and one with that ambition. So they can look forward to decent brooms. Percy has ambitions to enter the Ministry, and a letter of recommendation from a Noble and Ancient House should get him an above average starting position. Charlie I have a stack in the dragon sanctuary he works at so could be gwtting a promotion soon . Bill I need to see anyway – I need to speak to a decent curse breaker and my partners suggested his name. As for Ginny, what girl doesn't want new and fitting robes when she starts school?"

"I see you've done your research on us." Sirius could hear the anger in Arthur's voice building.

"These are the types of things that come second nature to me and my family, but I hope to use them for the betterment of society and not just for the pureblood faction, as the Blacks used to."

"I'll think on it, Lord Black. You seem to have me over a barrel anyway. But please, not a word to Molly. I need to consider this carefully and what your offer means for my family."

"I understand, Arthur. If it would help your decision making, you can visit me at my home sometime. I can then show you my family records and the conclusions I have come to from them as to how much damage was done to your family."

The pair had passed the flying meadow and were now returning to the house. Arthur was distracted and obviously deep in thought; Sirius was happy to let him think and enjoyed the air and the sun on his back. The Weasleys had beautiful grounds, but aside from the views and tranquillity, it had very little to offer. They could never sell the land to Muggles, as it was obvious on first glance that The Burrow just was not physically possible. The first floor plan took up more space than the ground. The supports for the overhangs were not strong enough to hold the weight they did. The chimneys did not appear to be connected to the ground floor fireplaces, but smoke came out of them anyway.

"Arthur, will Bill be here today? I have some matters I'd like to speak to him about."

"He should be home for dinner; he's keeping fairly normal hours at the moment. Would you like to join us for dinner? I'm sure Molly wouldn't mind."

"I'm afraid I must decline. Besides, the things I need to talk to him about are not suitable for the dinner table, especially if your daughter is present. You know my family's reputation, Arthur: it was well earned. There are parts of my holdings I'm afraid to enter without speaking to a curse breaker. I don't really wish to discuss the darkest of magic in front of your family."

"Yes, I see your point. Ginny is a little sheltered from the realities of the world, and Molly probably wouldn't sleep again if she knew the darker side of Bill's work. I'll see if he's home and let you speak to him in the living room if you want."

"Thank you, Arthur."

Sirius settled in the living room. While the rooms at Black Cottage were all designed to show formality and power, this room had been designed for a dual purpose, too: comfort and family. Sirius had settled back into an armchair that, although had seen better days, was definitely still comfortable when Bill joined him in the room. Sirius stood to greet him. Bill was slightly taller than Sirius and had his trademark Weasley ginger hair pulled back into a ponytail. His clothing was up to date and modern; everything about him, from his dragon hide boots to his earring, said this was a man who cared about his appearance.

"Lord Black, my father says you wish to speak to me."

"If you'd be so kind, Bill, and please, call me Sirius. I hear you have been called back from the Egyptian tombs to deal with a problem in the London branch."

"Hardly, I'm still a journeyman. Sanchez has been called back and where she goes, I follow." There was a slight bitterness to Bill's tone. "But I'm afraid as to what I'm doing for Gringotts, we have a most strict confidentiality clause in our contracts."

"I like a man who can keep a secret. But just so you know, I'm not fishing for information. What you are doing is working in the Lestrange vault to remove a dark curse from Helga Hufflepuff's cup. It was me who told the Goblins the cup is there, and I'm the one paying the Goblins for your services. I'm being briefed on your progress, too. I suggested just destroying the thing, but they wouldn't hear of it."

"Good luck destroying it. The thing is practically impervious to most magic."

"I've already destroyed Slytherin's pendent that had the same magic applied to it. Fiendfyre works wonders. You do know exactly what you have there, don't you?"

Bill stood and took out his wand. He moved it in a way Sirius had never seen before and a bubble expanded from it. Once it had grown to the size that it enveloped Bill and Sirius, Bill made another movement that halted its expansion.

"A privacy sphere. They are not exactly subtle, but they are effective. We're fairly certain that the cup is Voldemort's Horcrux. When we told the Goblins this, they agreed that this is what they were told, but they wanted independent confirmation. Honestly, we are no closer today than when we started on trying to remove it without damaging the cup."

"I see the Goblins are playing their own game. Yes, it's a Horcrux; he made several. This last week, I believe, I have discovered the site where he created another one. My partner had a bad experience with the magic that lingers in that place. I want curse breakers to go through the house and check it for traps. I also hope that if you study the place where one was made, it might help in your quest to remove the curse from the cup. Do you think the Goblins will be willing to let you do this, or should I approach them directly?"

"With the Goblins, I'd always suggest an open and honest approach. As you're paying for this work, I can't see them objecting to you reassigning the team. Besides, I think the whole team would relish the chance to get out of the vaults and do something dangerous. I didn't become a curse breaker to spend all my time doing research or sitting in a vault."

"I'll contact them next week then. One more question on a different subject. How hard would it be to set up a magic suppressing cell such as the Aurors use?"

"Once the ward stones were carved, it would be quite easy. Can I ask why?"

"One of my best friends is a werewolf and we are trying ways to make his transformations easier. We have to lock him in a secure cell at the moment for his and our safety, but the transformations are starting to affect his thinking for an hour or two before he changes. As he's a wizard, that means he is trying magic to escape before he transforms into a wolf." Sirius was quite pleased with that excuse that he and Luna had come up with.

"For something like that, I could carve you the stones, and I'd help you with placing them to ensure it would only affect the secure room and not the surrounding area."

"Thank you, Bill. I'll see you'll get any materials you'll need and give you something for your time. Speaking of time, I'm guessing your mum will want you at the dinner table soon."

Sirius made his goodbyes to the Weasleys. Arthur and Bill were quite honest in their goodbyes; Molly's lips thinned whenever she spoke to him, and Ginny just hid behind her mother's skirts.

Sirius jumped back on to the bike and took off almost immediately. He quickly turned himself invisible and silent and set the bike for the east. He didn't really want to head off to an empty house, so he decided he would go and annoy Ted and Andy for the evening.

ooo00000ooo

Harry and Hermione spent the weekend in a mixture of working through their first homework, exploring the castle and getting to know their housemates. Ravenclaw got a balance of students from all backgrounds. Anthony was the only pureblood boy, although in his own words, when you can trace your family tree back to Abraham, who cares how long some of your family have been doing magic.

Hermione was the only Muggle-born of the girls, but no one in her dorm room seemed to have any prejudice on that issue. She got some teasing over her posh accent but nothing hurtful.

It was a Saturday afternoon when Harry and Hermione were heading back to their common room, accompanied by Morag, Kevin and Terry. Morag nudged Harry.

"Ya wee scunner is coming."

Harry looked where she indicated and saw a pack of Slytherin first years headed towards them from a side corridor, led by Draco. Harry groaned quietly when he saw them approaching. Conversations with Draco were starting to wear him down, although neither of them had crossed the line and insulted the other yet.

"Cousin," Harry greeted him.

"Cousin," Draco returned with a sneer. "Anyone would think you enjoy spending time with these people the amount you're seen with them. Remember I have invited you to spend time with a better class of people."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Hermione spoke before Harry had a chance to formulate his answer.

Draco almost looked shocked that Hermione had dared to speak to him before his customary sneer returned to his face. "I don't explain myself to your type."

"My type? Do you mean girls? Is that why we only see you with the two bookends?"

"I mean uppity Mudbloods." There was a collective gasp from those in the two groups who knew the term.

"I'm not some uppity Mudblood, Malfoy. I'm your worst nightmare: I'm a Mudblood with attitude. I'm here to prove that your blood purity is meaningless. Every piece of work you, do I'll get a better grade on. Every spell you cast, I'll have done first and better."

Malfoy went to reach for his wand when Harry, standing off to one side, spoke. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why? Will you fight for her?"

"Not quite. It's just that the Grangers are vassals of the House of Black and are under the protection of Lord Black. You cast a spell at her, and Sirius will be in his rights to declare vengeance on the Malfoys. That will put your mother in a bit of a tricky position: will she hex your father or find herself cast out of the House of Black? All because you haven't learnt to keep your temper. If I were you I'd walk away now, Malfoy, while you have a shred of dignity left."

Draco's sneer slipped for a second before he turned on his heel and headed off down the corridor. The Ravenclaw group watched the Slytherins go before laughter swept through the group.

"Hermione, that was brilliant," congratulated Kevin. "Mudbloods with Attitude. I'm betting Malfoy has never heard a piece of Gangster rap in his life, so that came out of nowhere for him."

"I must admit, neither have I, but I read about them in the newspaper. The idea you use others' insults to empower yourself seems to work. Especially as I had to be told that Mudblood was an insult."

The group returned to their common room to find a new notice pinned to the board. Flying lessons were to start this Wednesday, a joint lesson with Hufflepuff. Harry smiled at the idea. First off, he loved to fly; Harry had used the broomstick Sirius had gotten him on every visit to Black Cottage. The feeling of pure joy he got when he took to the air was hard to put into words; it was a transcendent experience for him. He still remembered all those times he'd been locked in a cupboard as a child. Dark, alone and confined. When he flew, he felt he was one with creation. The air, the sky, the birds and the clouds all joined him in celebration of his freedom.

He nudged Hermione, who had a thin smile on her face. She had taken his broom up on a couple of occasions; she was a functional flier and she could if she needed to, but she would always try to find another method of transport if one was available.

Hermione leaned in to Harry. "Listen," she whispered.

Two second years, Cho and Marietta, were looking at a different notice, informing them of the dates of Quidditch trials.

"I'm going to try out for Chaser."

"Well, good luck to you. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."

"Marietta, you'd be a perfectly fine flyer if you got your own broom. That fall you had last year was not your fault. I could barely get that broom you were flying to go in a straight line. I'm amazed there haven't been more accidents, the state of some of those brooms they expect Muggle-borns to fly on."

"So you keep saying, but I still prefer to walk, thank you."

Harry and Hermione headed back to their usual table. "Do you think she was right about the school brooms, or was she just trying to make her friend feel better?"

"I've never heard anyone say anything good about the school brooms. Even Dora warned me to be careful on them. I think this is something we need to look into."

**A.N.**

I am a fanfiction writer and so I'm using other peoples characters and world. I'm doing my best to weave a unique path where JKR and many fanfiction writers have gone before.

Sirius's bike however I completely and shamelessly stole. I saw this bike In "HP and the Years of Rebellion" and thought to myself that is seriously cool.

Years of Rebellion can be found on fanfic authors dot net . A fantastic site that host some of my favourite authors and stories.

Y.O.R. is written by Full Pensive also known as Mike. It is ½ million words long, complex, rich in detail and unfinished and probably never will be. It is one of the few unfinished tales I would recommend. Read it when you have chance and then join me in bitter tears that you'll never see the end of it.

In summary it's a fantastic tale, and I stole the bike from it. I've resprayed it, changed the plates and it's mine now.

While writing Sirius showing off his bike to Arthur, WMP decided to bring up Silver Machine by Hawkwind. I spent a good five minutes trying to work the line "_It flies sideways through time_" into the dialogue but gave up.

Luna might at some point into the future.

If you want to read about Sanchez the curse breaker read "A Bungle in The Jungle" by jbern. Listed in my favourite stories.

If as I've hinted here Septimus Weasley is Arthurs father that makes Harry and Ron third cousins. Also Ron and Draco. Although Harry and Draco are second cousins. You can make an argument for Neville to be second cousins once removed from Ron and third cousins once removed from Draco and Harry.

In case you can't tell I got a little sidetracked looking at the Black family tree.

Cliffhangers. Please remember I'm the person who turned a game of hide and seek (chapter 7) into a cliffhanger. Don't take them to seriously.

Morag's accent is far more Glasgow than highlands but I just liked the line "Ya wee scunner"

Many thanks as usual to my wonderful beta. Jedi Goat


	17. Chapter 17

17

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

A.N.

I Remind you this is a T rated story I have no swearing, sex or violence in this chapter but some of the themes are quite dark and getting darker.

Chapter 17

Luna sat opposite Sirius in the sitting room of Black Cottage, her mum's words still ringing in her head. Selene had been quite brutal in her opinion on Luna's flirting with Sirius.

"I'm sure we named you Luna, not Lolita. I know how old you think you are, but I also know how old your body is."

But probably most hurtful were her comments about Sirius.

"What exactly would that make Sirius if he returned the feelings of a ten-year-old?" And, worse still, "The man spent years in Azkaban; he has to have some psychological damage and longing for positive emotions, and now he has someone two years younger than him dressed up in a little girl's body who thinks it's funny to flirt with him. Do you remember Andy's warning? It will take years for that mental damage to heal! If someone like Skeeter sees you, he'll end up back in Azkaban, and it will be your fault."

Luna had spent the night in tears but had resolved to keep her time with Sirius in the future businesslike and friendly with no flirting.

"How are things progressing with the plans?" she asked.

"The holding cell is built. The elves have done fantastic work. I've got Bill on board to construct the wards, although Merlin knows what he'll say when he sees the secure room. Once the wards go up I'll reassign my best agents to start reconnaissance."

"I'll come and do an inspection of the holding rooms before they go live, but I'm really not looking forward to it."

"I can imagine. I wouldn't want to visit a reconstruction of Azkaban." Sirius sighed and looked Luna in the eye. "What are our chances of getting away with this?"

"I don't know. If this wasn't so illegal, I'd get my parents and the Tonks to review it.

"This is high risk. If we pull it off, we'll have put an end to Voldemort indefinitely. There are so many ways it could go wrong. We could face charges of kidnapping. He might well have something up his sleeve we haven't taken into account, and we'll all end up dead."

"Well, my affairs are in order. Harry will be the next Lord and Andy, his regent until he is seventeen."

"You know, this is a really cheerful conversation. This will work, Sirius, because we are brilliant and the plan is so simple."

"But what if…." Whatever Sirius was going to say was interrupted by Luna's mirror starting to call her name.

"Hello, Harry, Luna here. How are you?" Luna was pleased to hear from Harry. She laughed herself silly while he told her about Hermione upstaging Malfoy. She was also pleased that his problem was something so easily solved. After talking to him and congratulating Hermione, she handed the mirror over to Sirius.

"You want what? Twenty by Wednesday? Oh, money's not a problem, I'll cover it. How do you want it done? Okay, I'll do what I can to keep the Black name out of it. Glad to see you're thinking of others, pup. Don't worry, I'll get it done." Luna listened to Sirius's one-sided conversation with Harry. She marvelled at the changes in Harry. He had seen a problem and found the easiest solution. This involved him asking for help and spending money, something that would never have crossed the mind of the Harry from her time. Hermione, too, had startled her. While she was acting as Luna remembered her, she had the self-confidence friendship had brought to start acting this way much younger.

Sirius ended the call and handed back the mirror to Luna.

"Sometimes I'm so proud of that boy I want to burst. Was he like this before?"

"Hermione always said he had a saving people thing. Now he's just more confident in himself, so he can see and anticipate needs before they become a problem. But you can always count on him to do what is right, whether that is facing down Voldemort in a one-on-one duel or just looking after his friends. Harry will do it."

"Well, as we are just in waiting mode at the moment, would you like to go shopping with me? I've just had some orders from my godson and not a lot of time to get it done."

ooooooo0000000000ooooooooo

The days until Wednesday passed without incident for Harry and Hermione. Wednesday afternoon was as good as could be in September in Northern Scotland; the day was clear and bright with a light breeze. They could see that the summits of the mountains surrounding the school were still untouched by the snow that would surely come to the peaks before autumn was out.

This was the first lesson after breakfast, and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs headed out to the grounds in small groups rather than en mass.

Harry and Hermione were accompanied by Terry and Anthony this morning.

"Is it difficult?" asked Terry. "I mean, this is something that reading about doesn't help, does it?"

"It's quite easy, to be honest," said Hermione. "Having said that, unlike some people, I hate it."

"You've been flying before, Hermione? I thought you were a MWA like me," Terry asked.

Hermione pursed her lips; she hadn't really intended for that phrase to become common knowledge, but Kevin had told everyone who would listen and some of the Muggle-borns had started to take it as a badge of identity. "I am, but I've known Harry for a while and his family recognised the signs of me being a witch and told me before I got the letter. So I've had time to get used to this world, which has included some flying lessons."

"Don't worry about it, Kevin," reassured Anthony, "you won't be the only one who has never flown. Living in London, I've never had the chance – too many Muggles around to try flying."

There were twenty broomsticks lying on the ground, and some Hufflepuffs were already standing next to brooms. Harry walked a little quicker to lead his group in and took the first available space. This found him standing with Hermione on one side of him and Sally-Anne on the other. Harry looked down at his broom. There were bristles sticking out at odd angles and it had clearly seen better days; he sighed slightly.

"Problems, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"I was hoping for a better broom."

The remaining Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joined them in standing next to the brooms. Harry could tell who had flying experience by the comments of disgust with the brooms they were provided with.

"I'd be ashamed to sweep the floor with this thing." Megan's comment summed up the mood quite well.

Harry looked at Sally-Anne on his left, who was now starting to look quite pale and nervous at the prospect of flying.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they wouldn't let us use anything that was unsafe. These are just old," Harry tried to reassure her. Both she and Hannah, who stood on the other side of Sally-Anne, nodded. Susan, who stood next to Hannah, looked at him as if he was daft.

Harry looked across the grounds, and he could see Madam Hooch approaching, followed by a box that floated behind her.

"Right then, class, pay attention. You are a very fortunate group. As of this morning, those brooms you are standing by will not be used again. Hogwarts has been gifted a set of brand new brooms." She walked down the line, handing out new brooms from the box she had following her. "These are Cleansweep fives. There are certainly better brooms on the market, but as a beginner's broom, these are ideal."

Madam Hooch had now gotten to the bottom of the line of pupils and given out all the new brooms. "Now, depending if you are right or left handed, I want you to put your lead hand over the broom."

Harry put his right hand over the broomstick, Sally-Anne bumped into him as she stepped over her broom and put her left hand over it. Harry smiled reassuringly at her as she blushed and looked away.

The flying lesson continued without incident, although Harry chafed at the restrictions placed on him. He wanted to swoop and glide and declare his freedom as he did every time he took to the sky, but he was aware that this was the first time many of this group had ever been on a broom, so he kept to the instructions Madam Hooch issued.

As they headed back to their common room to pick up books for the next lesson, Hermione teased him the whole way.

"Good job, I didn't have any problems on my broom. I'd have hit the floor before you looked in my direction. So, Harry, for how many seconds did you look away from Sally-Anne?"

"I don't suppose claiming I was worried about her safety, as it was obvious she'd never been on a broom before, would work?"

"Well, you never looked at Hannah once, who also was nervous about flying. I think you need another excuse."

"Did you know Kevin has done nothing but talk about you since Saturday?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"He's a bit too scruffy and he needs to wash his hair more. So what do you think about Sally-Anne's hair?"

"You're not going to be derailed on this one, are you?" Harry looked at Hermione, who was smiling and shaking her head. "Fine, her hair is like liquid sunshine when it catches the light. Now can you let it go?"

Harry had startled himself with his confession and had snapped at Hermione to cover his embarrassment.

"Just so long as you're being honest with yourself, I'll let it drop. For now," Hermione added impishly

They heard the next day that Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy had gotten into a scuffle during their flying lesson. Madam Hooch had banned them from flying for a year.

"Family is always embarrassing," Harry had muttered when he had heard of the incident. He had also taken some time out to look for Neville, who had fallen and injured himself.

But for Harry and Hermione, time passed as marked by the bell that started and ended lessons.

ooooooo0000000000ooooooooo

Sirius and Luna were sitting at their usual place in Black Cottage. "Are you ready?" Sirius asked.

"I don't think I'll ever be ready, but let's go."

They apparated to a warehouse that Sirius owned. It was bare of furniture or fittings and their footsteps echoed as they headed towards a door that was out of character to the rest of the building.

"Once we go live I'll have anti-apparition wards set up on this place. The antimagic wards are set up on the room already. Shall we?"

They had now reached a heavyset door that he opened to reveal a steep and narrow set of stone steps leading down. At the bottom of the stairs was another heavy door. Sirius paused to check on Luna before opening it. The room smelt of age and lack of air. Sirius was impressed at this, since it was practically new. They entered into the room: the floors and walls were solid stone with a low beamed ceiling above them. Sirius could reach up and touch the ceiling; the beams just gave him enough clearance to walk under without banging his head.

Luna stood with tears running down her face. She remembered the time she had spent here – well, not here, but the place of which this was a copy. The sounds and the smell came back to her. She remembered the screams, the pleas for mercy, and the laughter as none was given. She recalled the smell of filth and blood. The darkness closed in on her. Her breathing became short. Something was pressing against her chest. Every breath was a battle. Her breathing was shorter and faster now.

She wasn't thinking anymore, just reacting. She needed air.

She turned and bolted. Running up the stairs two at a time. She had to get out. Needed to get away. Something was following her. Why wouldn't it let her go? She only wanted to get away.

Sirius caught her at the top of the stairs: she was wide-eyed and hyperventilating by this point. Taking her by the arm, he apparated straight into the living room of Black Cottage. Easing Luna onto one of the chesterfields, he coaxed her into drinking the calming draught that they had prepared earlier.

Once she had regained her composure, she turned to Sirius. "Thank you. That draught was really necessary. You can tell the Elves that they have done a perfect job. The room was just as I remember it."

She wobbled slightly on the sofa and blinked owlishly at him. "I think I'll have a little sleep now."

She pulled her feet up onto the sofa, settled her head down and was almost instantly asleep. Sirius called an elf to bring her blankets and pillows. Strange he could plan kidnapping and blackmail with her and forget her age, but once she was asleep he remembered she was, in one sense, a little girl. He left her and headed to his study; he needed to review the list of agents suitable for this latest task.

Luna awoke on Sirius's sofa, wrapped in a blanket. She slowly sat up and, when that had no ill effect, stood. As Sirius was nowhere to be seen, she headed to his office, knocked and entered. Sirius was working his way through piles of paper and had a list of names in front of him. He looked up as Luna entered and smiled.

"How are you feeling? That was closer to a collapse than a sleep."

"Better now. I'd forgotten about that side effect of the potion. What are you working on?" Luna asked, shifting the conversation away from her frailties.

"Going through the list of people I have working for me. Trying to decide who is suitable for this next stage."

"Will Remus be involved?"

"He's too honest and too curious. He'd want to know why we were doing this. There would be no way he'd get involved in the play acting side."

"How many have you got, then?"

"Twelve so far who I'm willing to make the offer to. I would guess at least three of those will turn us down."

"So what do we need to put in place now before you conduct your sales pitch?"

"I want to make a map of the area. I don't want anyone other than those I invite hearing this offer."

"Probably a wise idea. So how long?"

"Well, this is a lot simpler area to map than Hogwarts. So it should only take me a couple of days to put one together. Then another couple of days to contact everyone I want to."

"We're looking at a week before we go into the next phase, then?"

o0o

Five days later, Luna found herself in a private office attached to Sirius's warehouse. She had a map that Sirius had created on her knee: it showed the warehouse and surrounding area, and at the moment the only two people on the map were herself and Sirius, pacing at the front of the building. She also had a list of names of who to expect and a mirror with which to contact Sirius. The first of the timed portkeys was due to bring in one of Sirius's guests in the next minute. They were set to bring someone in every two minutes: just enough time to get them settled.

Luna watched the first of Sirius's men arrive. They were mostly Muggle-borns and Half-bloods who had lost family in the last war and nursed a grudge over the Death Eaters who had returned to society. Some of these had left the magical world; others had left the country. Sirius had spent time recruiting them, cautiously testing them and how far they were willing to go in their quest for revenge.

The room was half full when Luna noticed a problem. Two people had portkeyed into the room when they had only been expecting one.

Each guest was given a hooded cloak on arrival before Sirius escorted them to a seat and told them not to speak to anyone else present. He also told them they would be using numbers, not names. As they weren't expecting a hundred percent take up, they wanted anonymity for those present.

Luna watched the uninvited guest as Sirius settled in the rest of the men, finally making his way to a lectern at the front of the room. On the lectern were his notes and a mirror matching the one Luna held in her hand.

"Sirius, security breach."

Sirius nodded to let her know he had heard her; she could see him loosen his wand in its holster.

"Your fifth guest had an animagus attached to him. It is a small beetle of some sort. I can't remember the colouring. It is Skeeter, so probably best not to kill her."

She could see Sirius's eyes open wide with surprise at that last comment, but he nodded and took action.

He left the lectern and spoke individually to the two men in the front row. On his signal the two men stood and walked towards the back of the hall. Once they had passed the fifth guest, they turned back on themselves and stood behind the man who Rita was hiding on. Sirius approached him directly.

"Please stand, Mr. Five."

He looked around him and realised he was flanked by two figures behind him and Sirius in front of him, all with wands drawn.

"Sirius, what is this? What's a matter?"

"Stand and I'll explain. Resist and I'm afraid I'll have to stun you."

The man slowly stood, keeping his hands away from his body.

"Rita, I know you're there. If you come out now, I'll be merciful; if you make this difficult I'll bring the full force of the House of Black against you, or possibly a rolled up copy of The Prophet."

Luna watched the figures on the map: Rita Skeeter moved away from the man, and she was able to hear the gasp from the room as presumably she changed shape.

A quick Stupefy later and Luna had company in the office.

Sirius returned to the warehouse and stood before Rita's host. "Right, you have a choice: if you swear an oath that you had no knowledge of her being here, you can stay; if not, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

One oath on life and magic later, Sirius returned to the front.

"Apologies for the cloak and dagger routine in advance. You have all been working for me for some time, but tonight I'm about to bring a major operation before you. If, at the end of the evening, you choose that the risks in this scheme are too high for you, I'll pay you for the time you have spent here listening to me and have the memory of this evening Obliviated from you. I have an IWC accredited Obliviator in the back room, so you don't have to worry about forgetting your wife's name as you would if I did it. Rejecting the offer will not affect future work from me. If you have an objection to this idea, you can leave now."

Sirius looked up, but although a few people shifted in their seats, no one left.

"Right then, let me preface my next phase of operation with a warning. A few you have skirted quite close to the edge of the law on some of the work I've asked you to do, but not in this case. If we are caught on this one, we are talking serious Azkaban time for everyone involved and probably life for me as the mastermind behind it, so that explains my caution here."

Sirius then explained his plan to the men in the room. At the end of the evening, Luna was obliged to Obliviate three men who felt the risks outweighed the costs of this scheme. Sirius gave them notes explaining they had turned down a job offer and had willingly agreed to be Obliviated and paid them ten Galleons each for their time.

Once Sirius had seen everyone safely away, he headed into the back office to see Luna and Rita, who was slumped in a corner, still unconscious.

"She started to stir, so I Stupefied her again. What are we going to do with her?"

"Options, as I see them, are Obliviation with blackmail and threats or Obliviation and handing her over to Bones."

"She does respond to blackmail. Do you think she will be useful?"

"We could make use of her abilities. She is a muckraker and must have some useful sources. I'd like to know what she knows, though. I don't suppose you know Legilimency?"

"No, it was a line I refused to cross. I hate Obliviating people, but see it as necessary on some occasions."

Sirius's face took on a most serious expression. "Right, do we put her in the secure room, or will you stand over her?"

Luna thought about her options: putting Rita in the cellar crossed a line in her thinking. Rita was not evil, just self-serving, and while she may damage reputations, she didn't inflict pain for the enjoyment it brought her. On the other hand, she had been stunned twice this evening; many more and they would start putting her health at risk.

Was this one of those greater good decisions, or had they passed a line somewhere back that they hadn't noticed and now all choices were bad ones?

"The cellar, I think," Luna finally answered in a small voice, hating herself for speaking.

Sirius used Locomotor to lead Rita's inert body down to the cellar. He cast Accio on Rita's wand before he closed the door to find Luna standing there with tears of self-loathing in her eyes.

"Here's a handy tip that might save your life. Accio Rita's wands." Luna found herself holding another wand before she turned on her heel and walked back up the stairs to the main room of the warehouse.

Sirius followed, locking the two doors behind him, to find Luna sitting on a chair at the top of the stairs.

"I should only be an hour; I'll be back with someone who will be able to find out how much she knows. If I'm quick, I'll be back before she comes to her senses."

Luna simply nodded with dead eyes, watching the door. Fighting for your life in a battle is one thing, but making a cold and calculated decision to lock someone in a prison because they were a gossip was starting to affect her. She could feel herself bringing in her old self-protection defenses. As soon as she was done here, she was going to go home and spend some time with her parents, being normal for a while. Not the joint leader of a countrywide conspiracy dedicating itself to overthrowing the nation's elite.

Luna sat in the chair, wrestling with her inner demons, when Sirius and another man apparated into the room. Luna moved behind her chair and had her wand drawn in an instant.

"It's okay, he's with me."

Luna rose and looked at the man with Sirius: he was hooded and all she could tell was that he was slightly shorter than Sirius.

"If I was you I'd head home now. You've had a rough day and I get a feeling it will only be worse for you if you stay."

Luna started to protest, but Sirius took her by the arm and whispered to her, "He doesn't know who you are or what you can do. What sort of man would I be if I allowed a child to stay and witness the threats and blackmail we will be using against Rita?"

Luna nodded her understanding and headed to the office to apparate home. A dose of normalcy with her parents might be what she needed. Before she left, she picked up her mirror.

Selene had finally found a way of creating a network with them: these had the ability to contact everyone or individuals, as you wanted. Selene was still slightly frustrated that there seemed to be an upper limit of ten that would link together. Sirius had purchased the first set of ten and was going to give them to his agents, who would start their surveillance phase as soon as he got a rota organized.

Luna took one last look around the room before apparating home. Glancing at the map of the warehouse, she was surprised to see who Sirius had with him. Then she was gone.

o0o

The following Saturday, Luna and Sirius found themselves in Hogsmeade. The main topic of discussion was what to buy Hermione for her upcoming birthday this coming Thursday, but they were both watching for their target as they shopped around the town.

Luna had applied glamour charms to herself to alter her appearance. Her hair was jet black that she had in two plaits on either side of her head. Her dress was in a very conservative style, buttoned down the front with a white collar. She kept humming to herself as she wandered around the village.

Sirius had made no attempt to alter his appearance and was dressed in expensive and tailored robes. This morning he was sporting a neat, well-trimmed goatee and shoulder length hair. Sirius used hair growing and removing charms on a regular basis, and Luna never knew how he would look when she went to see him. Whether clean-shaven or with a full beard, he generally always kept his hair long. He loped along beside her as if completely at ease.

"Will you please stop clicking your fingers?"

"Sorry, Sirius, it just matches the tune I'm humming."

He snorted slightly and continued to wander around the village. As he looked in one shop window and Luna stood next to him he quietly asked, "Why the black hair this morning?"

"Two reasons. One, if you are going to pass me of as a relative, it would help if I looked slightly like a Black. Also, it gives my parents a little bit of deniability if we are seen on our schemes. It took Hagrid all of ten seconds to work out who my mum was from first meeting me."

Sirius nodded in understanding and wandered to the next shop.

"Why are you so noncommittal this morning?"

"Two reasons. I hate shopping and I'm tense over what we have planned."

"We're not really shopping. If we were, we'd be in the bookshop."

"Is that her only interest? Books. I know she's in Ravenclaw and is studious, but there has to be more to her than that."

"Well, I'd normally buy her wine and chocolate, but I'm buying for her twelfth birthday, not her twenty second. But she does love to read; learning new things is her passion."

"It just seems a bit silly to me to go to a bookshop that has a smaller stock of books than I've got in Black Cottage. Not to mention Grimmauld Place has another library, and you should see the manor house one. If she wants to read, she can read any of the safe books from my libraries."

"That's fine for you, but I think I'll go to the bookshop anyway." Luna wandered in the direction of the bookshop, humming and clicking her fingers as she went.

Luna kept a watch out as she went. It was optimistic in the highest to think that they would see their target on their first attempt, but sometimes you got lucky. She watched Sirius following behind her; he had been quite grumpy all day and had stayed quiet on the subject of Rita. The most she had gotten out of him was that the situation was dealt with.

On the way to Bindings and Marks, the Hogsmeade bookstore, she changed direction and went down a side street to go to Dervish and Banges.

Later in the day, they sat in sight of the Shrieking Shack. Sirius had conjured a blanket for them to sit on and was staring gloomily at the building.

"You do know it's not haunted, don't you?" Sirius gestured at the building.

"I've heard some stories about that place. They are a few years in the future and won't happen anymore, but they do mention the Shack's history."

"The howls people used to hear and that got it that reputation were all Remus in his changed form. An animagus transformation, once mastered, is purely magical and has no ill effects. Remus's is physical, powered by a magical curse. He feels every stretch of muscle and pop of a joint. His jawbone extends out of his face. It's hideous to watch. I tell you, Luna, if I ever meet Fenir Greyback, he gets an Avada Kedavra on the spot.

James and I figured out what Remus was before we reached the second year. It took us years to master the magic to become an animagus and a bit more to teach it to Peter, may he rot in hell. But it was all worth it just to bring Remus some comfort, to let him know we didn't fear or despise him. Looking back, we were idiots, the chances we took. We never thought of the consequences of our actions. I nearly killed Snape because it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"What brought all this on? You're on your way to depression here." Luna was watching Sirius as he talked; she had never seem him so melancholic.

"Azkaban," he answered bitterly. "All my past is filtered through that experience. Dementors don't just pull all your negative thoughts to the front of your mind. If you spend long enough in their company, they go through all your happy memories and shift your perspective on them.

"So when I come to a place like this, full of childhood memories of the times I had with James and Remus, all I can focus on is that James is dead and Remus and I, well, we're not exactly friends anymore."

"Right then, if you sit here any longer you'll just continue to sulk. Up on your feet, Black, time to do something stupid."

"What are we doing?"

"Let's go and explore the Forbidden Forest."

**A.N**

Rating. Still toying with raising it. Tom is a psychopath and I just know if I write him I'll end up doing something bad.

Yes I'm backing off on the Luna and Sirius flirting it had got to the point it was making me feel uncomfortable. They will still have a confused relationship but Luna especially will cut down on it.

I hate the phrase the "greater good" it usually means I know I'm hurting you but it's in my best interest.


	18. Chapter 18

18

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

A.N.

I Remind you this is a T rated story I have no swearing, sex or much violence in this chapter but some of the themes are quite dark and getting darker.

Chapter 18

Luna led Sirius into the forest, taking him down paths and game trails. Luna loved the wilderness. There was nothing in here that was evil – dangerous, yes, and possibly deadly, but nothing here killed for pleasure or hurt for amusement.

The forest was a mixed woodland; Scots Pine sat happily alongside oak, ash and sycamore.

After ten minutes of walking, they came to a grove of beech trees and the undergrowth thinned as the canopy thickened up.

"If you don't transfigure that outfit into something you can move through these woods in, I will, and trust me, you won't like my choices." Luna watched Sirius change his robes into black trousers and a top, tight enough so they wouldn't catch on the undergrowth but loose enough to give him freedom of movement.

"Better, but don't go for a solid colour." She demonstrated her point by changing her dress from the uniform dark grey it was to greys, greens and browns in random splashes of colour. She also transfigured the tights under the dress to canvas trousers of the same material.

She then gave Sirius a master class in how to move through a forest. The trick was not to move silently because a block of silence in a forest full of noise would have been unnatural, but to blend the noise you made into the background noise of the forest. They kept to the paths and game trails that crossed the woodland. Luna pointed out the difference between the trails of non-magical creatures like badgers and foxes and of the magical. She explained how to tell the difference between unicorn or centaur prints. They steered away from one path that Luna estimated had been used by centaurs in the last hour.

They took a rest after Sirius had almost gotten the idea of what to do.

"You're getting better. If I was looking for rare animals, I'd still leave you at home, but for tracking semi-human dark lords, you'll do."

"Why are we looking for him in the forest?"

"A half remembered story. In my fourth year, we had a centaur teach us Divination. Harry told me he'd met him before and he'd been rescued by him from Voldemort. I assume that was this year and in the forest. Harry never made a big deal over the things that happened to him. So if no one else was there to witness it, I don't know too much about it."

"So you think he was coming into the forest for something?"

"All I know is, at one time, Harry met him in the forest, and on Halloween, he let a troll into the castle. Which is why I want him caught before then. Harry and Hermione got lucky that time, but they also had help. The one who helped them out of trouble was also partly to blame for it. I don't even think Harry has spoken to him in this time. So does that mean they will be better or worse off if it happens again?"

Sirius shrugged. "I can barely keep up with the question, never mind answer it. Who helped them? Why did he cause the problem? Is it someone like Albus, or another student?"

"Okay, I'm losing track of what I've told you anyway, so I'll tell you everything I know about Harry's first year, including names. This is mostly from Hermione's perspective, as she was the only one who talked to me about this stuff."

At the end of Luna's account of Harry's first year, Sirius was shaking his head. "So much of what you told me makes no sense. But I can understand the need to catch him before Halloween. A troll is a bit of a wildcard. Although if Ron insulted our Hermione, she would laugh in his face. Worse still, if he actually managed to upset her, Harry would have him looking for his teeth. Shall we head back to Hogsmeade? If he is out of the castle today, he'll have to walk through the gates. I doubt even he would risk trying to apparate into the school."

"You take the lead. Let's see if you've learned anything."

Luna followed Sirius as he picked paths that led them towards the village. He followed game trails as she had showed him. At one point, he picked a badger trail that, while clear on the ground, didn't give them much space to walk upright. As they came to some dense brambles, the path turned into a tunnel through them.

"Do we push on or turn back?" Sirius asked.

"I can get through there since I'm smaller. This might teach you to pick a better path in future." Saying that, Luna got down on her knees and started to crawl through the brambles. She had only gotten halfway in when she realised she had made a mistake. Her braids were on the sides of her head rather than the centre where she normally kept them, and she had one of them caught on a bramble. After pulling at it for a minute, she took out her wand and cast Diffando. She smiled to herself as she heard Sirius swear as he saw what she'd done. She made it to the other side of the brambles and cast Diffando again to even up her hair. She could have just as easily cut the brambles, but she had been looking for an excuse to cut her hair for a while now.

"Okay, Sirius, your turn."

Sirius transformed himself into his dog form and made his way through the bramble patch. He looked entirely too pleased with himself as turned back to human and set off towards the village. Luna shook her head ruefully, what was left of her hair whipping around her collar; she had forgotten he could do that.

They eventually came to the edge of the forest and onto the road that led between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. They walked toward the village, Luna enjoying the sounds and scents of being outdoors and in a semi-wild place. She had spent much of her last ten years in the world's wilderness areas. She had forgotten how much she missed it, even if by her standards the Forbidden Forest was closer to a game reserve than a truly wild place.

"One last look around, then home?" Sirius asked.

"It won't hurt. Do we have a plan to capture him if we meet?"

"Not as such. I have a plan if I can get the team here, but if it's just the two of us, I distract him and the little girl who is too young to have a wand stuns him in the back."

"It might work. He was always overconfident when fighting Harry; he never believed a child could stand against him."

Luna looked around the village lanes as she approached . She knew that it was unlikely they would encounter him on their first reconnaissance, but she had had a feeling that they would encounter him all day.

An hour later, she conceded that feelings don't always lead to the truth. Sirius and she apparated first to Black Cottage, and then she flooed home to The Rookery.

She was greeted by her mum's scream as she stepped out of the floo and Selene saw what she had done to her hair.

ooo000ooo

The morning of September the nineteenth saw Hermione sitting at the Ravenclaw table as usual. Harry was sitting opposite her with Kevin to one side of her and Lisa to the other. The morning post owls flew in and it suddenly darkened where they were sitting as a parliament of owls flew towards them.

"Honestly," said Harry, "you would swear it was someone's birthday or something."

Hermione looked down shyly as most of the hall looked in her direction to see what the commotion was.

"You best start getting the letters off them or we'll be swamped by the things," Lisa encouraged.

With the help of her friends, Hermione removed parcels and letters from the owls. Harry, who had been expecting this more than Hermione, had brought a large bag of owl treats, which he gave to each owl before they flew off. Hedwig was the exception to this rule: she settled on Harry's chair to watch Hermione go through her presents.

Harry had bought her subscriptions to newspapers, both magical and muggle.

"I could tell that your not knowing what was happening in the world was starting to get to you." She thanked him profusely; they lived in a vacuum in Hogwarts, not knowing what was going on anywhere outside the castle, especially the normal world, as she called it.

Kevin handed over a card that he kept apologising for: he had gotten his younger sister to buy it and send it to him so he could write his greeting. It was obvious that his sister's taste ran to more pink than he would have chosen.

She received a book bag from Luna with a note that it would only carry a hundredweight of books weightlessly, so not to go too mad.

Sirius had sent her a mirror. It started to vibrate and call her name almost as soon as she opened it. She was expecting to see Sirius on the other side, but was surprised to see her parents.

Five minutes later she put down the mirror with tears in her eyes at being able to chat with her mum on her birthday. Unfortunately, when she looked away from the mirror she saw Draco coming toward their table.

"I'd cry too if I was as ugly as you, Granger, and someone had sent me a mirror," he drawled to laughter from Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry watched Kevin next to her tense up, then looked to Hermione to see how she would respond.

"As usual, Malfoy, you open your mouth and display your ignorance. Mudbloods like me are used to instant forms of communication. We don't send letters very often except for gifts and cards. We use technology to speak to people instantly. I was appalled to discover how backwards the magical world is. So this is a gift from Lord Black, the latest invention; with this, I can talk instantly to my parents back at home. I can use it anywhere and don't have to find a fireplace. I bet a Pureblood would never have thought of it. Another point to the Mudbloods, I think."

Snape, who was heading towards them, turned to Hermione. "Ten points from Ravenclaw, Miss Granger, and I'll be speaking to your head of house over your use of that term."

"Pardon me, sir, what did I do wrong?"

"That phrase you used is forbidden at Hogwarts."

"I'm sorry, sir, I shan't use it again. It's just when Draco called me it, I assumed it was a perfectly normal word. After all, his father is a pillar of society, as he keeps telling us, and he'd never do anything to embarrass him."

Snape glared at Draco for a moment before looking back at Hermione. Finally, he turned back to Draco. "I'll see you in my office immediately, Malfoy." Saying that, he turned on his heel and swept out of the Great Hall.

"Greasy git lets the point loss stand," complained Kevin.

"Yes, he did," said Penelope, sitting a little further down the table. "Ten points to Hermione for putting Malfoy in his place."

The following Saturday, Harry saw a Black family owl swoop towards him at the breakfast table. Unwrapping the present, he found another mirror and a note from Sirius in his looping elegant handwriting.

_Hi, pup. _

_This new mirror is a little different from your present one. _

_Instead of being one of a pair, it's part of a network. _

_Look into it as usual and call who you want to speak to. _

_The list of owners is Luna, Hermione, the Grangers, Andy, Ted, the Lovegoods, Dora, and me. _

_In the case of an emergency, you can call everyone simultaneously by asking for 'everyone'. _

_You can tell Hermione, too, that her mirror is part of this group. _

_Any questions, call me – or better still, Selene. She made them. _

_Sirius. _

Harry looked up from the mirror and note. Hermione was hidden behind a copy of _The Times_ newspaper and hadn't noticed Harry's delivery. He smiled to himself and left the table. Finding an empty classroom, he took out the mirror.

"Hermione." As he suspected, he had to wait for the volume and vibration to build up before he had an answer.

"Yes, dad. How are you this morning?"

"Not old enough to be your father," Harry laughed.

"Harry? How did you get hold of my parents' mirror? Are you out of school? Where are you?"

Harry was laughing too much to answer at first. A flustered Hermione was always an amusing sight. He noticed the tightening around her eyes that signified she was starting to get irritated with him. "Hang on. I'm around the corner. I'll come and talk to you."

Harry returned to the Great Hall to see that, although the ceiling showed a drizzly day outside, there was a definitely frosty spot waiting for him at the Ravenclaw table.

"Explain, Potter. If you have done something that has messed up my ability to talk to my parents, then I'll – I don't know what I'll do, but it will be pretty bad."

Harry suddenly understood why she was in such a bad mood with him: she feared losing her connection with her home.

"Hermione, I haven't done anything to your mirror and I'm sorry for scaring you. Let me show you Sirius's note."

She quickly read the note, stared hard at Harry, and then called her parents. After a quick call home, she called Luna. When she finished speaking to Luna, she turned her gaze upon Harry. "You're lucky. Luna assures me that killing you would be a bad thing, so it looks as if you have gotten away with it for the moment."

"Would it help if I apologised again?"

"I don't know. Why don't you try?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't think about how important that connection home is to you. I'm sorry for scaring you and upsetting you."

"Not a bad apology. You do know that, for a Ravenclaw, you can be an idiot sometimes?" The last was said with a smile, so Harry guessed if he was not forgiven yet, he soon would be.

By the time Hermione had finished the articles that interested her in _The Times,_ she was back to acting normally towards him.

The mirrors came in useful in the following week, as Harry was able to speak to Ted to give him instructions for Luna's birthday. He had decided to buy her a portable CD player so she could listen to her growing collection of music somewhere other than Ted's technology room. This, Ted was more than happy to help with, since he quite liked Pink Floyd and Yes but was sick of listening to 21st Centaury Schizoid Man.

Luna spent the weekend of her birthday in a repeat of the previous year, although she had the added task of being taken to a hairdresser to even up her hairstyle. By the time Ginny came over, she had it in a shoulder length bob.

Ginny enjoyed the Saturday night sleepover, but once she left, Luna was looking forward to the slightly more adult dinner party on the Sunday, to which Ted, Andy and Sirius had been invited.

They were halfway through the main course when Luna felt her mirror vibrate in her pocket. Assuming she had a birthday message from Harry or Hermione, she pulled her mirror from her pocket and was surprised to see Sirius do the same. She looked down into a man's eyes wild with fear.

"…back up. Repeat, we have engaged the target. Carter is down. Need immediate backup."

Luna jumped to her feet immediately and reached for her wand.

"Don't you dare, Luna." Sirius's voice was one of command. "Selene, keep her here. You are not getting involved in this on your birthday of all days." Saying that, he apparated away.

Luna made to follow him, but Xeno put his hand on her shoulder. "Not until you tell what it is you're up to, at least."

"I can't, daddy. If you don't know, if it goes wrong, you can at least take Veritaserum and swear your innocence."

Xeno snorted and sat down next to her. "I really do dread to think of the chances you two are taking."

Time dragged for Luna and conversation was muted around the table. Then her mirror started to vibrate; she had it in her hands in seconds. "Luna here."

"Luna, can you get Andy to come to the cottage? I've got an injured man here." Sirius's face was dirty and sweaty as she looked at him to try and get some sense of his mood, but he wasn't giving much away. "Use the floo, I've got the cottage in lockdown mode."

She nodded her understanding. "If you're at the cottage, I'm coming, too. Lose the cloak before Andy gets there."

She ended the call and turned to Andy. "At least one of Sirius's agents has been injured, cursed in some way; can you get your medical bag and floo to the cottage? I'll see you there." She was out of her seat and was heading for the floo when Selene stood in her way.

"Are you sure this is going to be safe, Luna?"

"I'm almost certain that there is no danger waiting for me at Black Cottage. He wouldn't have asked for Andy if there was danger there. But if I don't go and speak to Sirius and find out what happened, my blood pressure will be through the roof."

"Fine, who am I to stand in the way of my eleven-year-old daughter."

"I prefer to think of myself as twenty-nine."

Luna threw the floo powder into the fire and stepped into the flames. As she stepped out, she saw a wand pointed at her, then lowered again. Sirius was standing in front of her and Andy was casting diagnostic charms on a man she recognised from Sirius's records as John Fletcher lying on a bed. Every time he breathed out, blood came to his lips.

"Sirius, get back over here with that cloth."

Sirius headed back to the side of the bed and wiped the blood that was bubbling at Fletcher's mouth and nose.

"There's nothing I can do here. We need to get him to St Mungo's."

Sirius and Luna shared a worried glance.

"This is not up for debate. He will be dead in minutes if the damage can't be reversed. We move him now."

"Okay," said Sirius, "I'll deal with the consequences later. Luna, wait here. We'll be back when we can."

Luna found herself alone. Andy created a portkey, and the three of them and the bed disappeared.

Luna paced the rooms of Black Cottage. She tried to read, but her mind wouldn't settle. She eventually collapsed on a sofa, exhausted, noting it was past eleven now. Her body craved sleep; her mind craved information. She was dozing when the fire flared green in front of her and Sirius stepped out.

"Oh, Merlin, what an evening." He collapsed down onto one of his chesterfields, calling for coffee from an elf. "Fletcher didn't make it. The curse dissolved his lungs. He was already too far gone when we got him to St Mungo's. That makes two dead tonight. We left Carter in the forest and you saw Fletcher. I spent the night lying to the Aurors. Thankfully, the title of a noble and ancient Lord and one miscarriage of justice against me gets me the benefit of the doubt.

"I told them that I found him on my doorstep like that. Yes, he worked for me. I'd review what he was working on and speak to them again. They checked my wand. I told the story five more times to ever more senior Aurors, and in the end they let me go."

"So what happened to them? Did they meet Voldemort?"

"Merlin! I forgot, you don't know." The weariness left Sirius's voice and turned to excitement. "We got him, we got Quirrell – or, if you prefer, Voldemort!

"I left your place and apparated into the warehouse. The rest of the men were there or joined me a minute later. We put on the robes and masks and apparated en mass into the forest. We took our bearings from the charm we placed on the mirrors.

"Well, at that point, Carter was already down and he was standing over Fletcher. We took up positions around him; he looked at us in triumph and started to laugh. He said something like, 'My loyal Death Eaters come to find me at last.'

"I made the signal and three of us stunned him. That easy. All he saw were the cloaks and the masks and he jumped to the conclusion you thought he would. We took him back to the warehouse and threw him in the cellar.

"I checked under his turban." Sirius shuddered. "Spent a few minutes organising a guard rota and masks, and then went back for Fletcher."

Luna was laughing and crying at Sirius's tale. "We did it, we got him. I can't believe it worked. Sod your Horcruxes, Voldemort, you can be immortal in a dungeon. We've done it, Sirius. We now have time. Harry will be safe. We can track down the ring and the others and not worry about the ticking clock."

"Well, now we have to keep him locked up indefinitely."

"What can go wrong? He's limited by Quirrell's body to start with. He has no wand. The room is warded against magic use. He's behind not one, but two locked doors. We have armed guards there and the place is warded against magical travel."

"I still think we have missed something."

"Let me think." Luna started to visibly droop as she racked her brains for another safeguard.

"Home, I think, for you," said Sirius, "your mum will skin me alive if you stay the night."

Luna got up shakily and headed to the floo. Her parents were waiting for her in the kitchen when she got home. After reassuring them she was fine, she headed up to bed. Just as she fell asleep, she sat upright. "Draught of the Living Dead, that's what we'll do." Then she settled back down to sleep.

ooo000ooo

Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, came to consciousness before Quirrell. While he was bound to his body, he was not controlled by it. The stunning spells had knocked him out, but he was the master of death; a mere stunner would not keep him down long, unlike the pathetic weak thing he had saddled himself with.

He gathered his strength and took direct control of Quirrell's body. This was something he couldn't do when Quirrell was awake. He removed the turban so he could see. Darkness; what was darkness to the serpent master? His eyes could see infrared and heat sources. Nothing to see: dark cold stone, some heat from the ceiling.

That was the weak spot; he gathered his magic and prepared to blast the roof away.

Nothing; he was powerless. How dare they do this to him?

He would make them pay. The tortures he would inflict! They would beg to be Crucioed rather than what he would do to them. His Death Eaters had turned on him. They were nothing but pawns, bodies to do his will. He might have been immortal, but he wasn't omnipresent, not yet.

So he had recruited his pawns. They had their uses. The current use he would put them to was a lesson not to stand against him.

He took a proper evaluation of the room. Stone floor, stone walls, low beamed ceiling, ten foot by ten foot. He knew this place!

Malfoy's cellar!

He would make Lucius's fate something that would make people shudder in a thousand years' time.

Still, Lucius was clever, and that was why he used him.

This room was well nigh escape proof; they had seen to that.

There was one way out, though. Something the oh-so-clever Lucius would never have thought of. Something only the master of death could accomplish.

Thankfully Quirrell was still affected by the stunning he had received. Fool that he was, he would have resisted this plan.

ooo000ooo

Luna awoke on Monday morning to a faint buzzing. She blinked and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Looking over to the bedside clock, she saw it was eight o'clock in the morning: far too early, since she had been up until midnight. Still, sleep was impossible with that buzzing. She looked around the room, checking to see if there was a bumblebee trapped against the window.

Nothing there. She yawned and tried to get her bearings and thoughts together. A shower should help her wake up; then she would go downstairs for breakfast.

Yesterday had been a win overall for the good guys. Two men dead versus Voldemort captured. Could she have knowingly sent two men to their deaths? She considered and decided that she couldn't. But in retrospect, the price to catch him had not been as bad as she feared.

Ten minutes later, she came back to her room to get dressed. What to chose? Strangely enough, most of the clothes for her size made her look like a little girl. Jeans and a jumper would do, with a robe overtop.

She would tidy up the dirty clothes and go down for some food.

As she picked up yesterdays' clothes, the mirrors fell out of her pocket. Good thing they had Imperviused the mirrors to stop accidental damage.

One of the mirrors danced across the floor as it vibrated and called her.

Picking it up, she saw a wild-eyed and exhausted Sirius looking back at her.

"Where have you been? We have a major incident here."

"Sleeping and showering. What's happened?"

"Come to the cottage and I'll explain. Not that there is anything we can do about it now."

Luna ran through the house, earning surprised looks from her parents as she headed for the fireplace.

"Off to Black Cottage, can't stop. Love you both." No matter how busy things got, she made a point of telling her parents she loved them at least once a day. She treasured the days she had with them; each one was a gift. Her mum would have been dead over eighteen months now if she hadn't made changes. She had to keep reminding herself that while Sirius was telling her whatever had gone wrong with the plans.

She arrived in Sirius's sitting room and called for him. On receiving no answer, she called for Travailly, the senior elf of the Cottage. He told her that Sirius was not back yet. She sat back on one of the three remaining chesterfields and asked for some breakfast.

A grim-faced Sirius walked in through the front doors as she was finishing her muesli. He sat opposite her and asked the elves for a pepper-up potion.

When the steam finished pouring out of his ears, he looked across at Luna. "Well, that plan was all for nothing. He's gone."

Luna's world crashed down on her. She had half expected this but was clinging on to the hope that this wasn't the incident that Sirius had told her about. "How? Did he harm anyone on the way out?"

"I got a call at one this morning. I'd told the guards to check on him every couple of hours to see if he had suffered any damage from the stunners.

"He had obviously come around since the last check. He had removed his turban, looped it around the beams and hung himself.

"The guards called me in; it was not a pretty sight. I'll spare you the details, but it wouldn't have been quick. So what we had was one missing Dark Lord's spirit, but one dead Hogwarts professor. What happened last time? Where did he go when Quirrell died last time?"

"As far as I know, he went back to the Albanian forests until Peter found him."

"Let's hope that history repeats itself here. Damn, I'm tired. We took Quirrell's body to the forest and hung him from a tree next to Carter's body. We left the wand that he killed Carter with in his robe pocket. The face on the back of his skull had faded. So we'll see what the Aurors make of that if the bodies are found."

Luna tried to take it all in. Voldemort was no longer in school with Harry; at least that was a positive. It had always been optimistic that they could hold him indefinitely. But his ruthlessness had surprised her. Still, best to update Harry and tell him that they had removed at least part of the problem. With Quirrell gone, he should be safe for at least another year.

She glanced at the clock. Nine o'clock Monday morning: he would be in double Potions now. She would have to wait for two hours before she told him.

ooo000ooo

He drifted across the countryside, less than a ghost, but free. Removing himself from that body must have affected him in some way. He had no recollection of seeing Malfoy's manor. Still, he was aware now. Time to move north, back to the castle: the prize was still there, after all.

He just needed another body. He knew just the one.

A.N.

I have a main plot worked out but I am writing this week to week. This is where reviews help. If you have just found this and read it in one sitting you probably have a better feel for the whole story than I do.

Reviewers asking questions may find answers in the next chapter even if the answer is no.

Hundredweight about 50kgs

Yes I know it was two purebloods who made the first mirrors. So does Hermione. Draco doesn't so she lied a bit to make him feel small.

Cliff-hanger, I think this counts. I will do my very best to get the next chapter up before I go away on my Easter Holiday.

Again this chapter is improved by the work Jedi Goat has done, so thanks to her.


	19. Chapter 19

19

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

A.N.

I remind you this is a T rated story I have no swearing, sex or violence in this chapter but some of the themes are quite dark.

Chapter 19

Clare Jacobs was a seventh year Hufflepuff. She remembered her first week at the castle; she had been completely out of her depth. It was her first time away from home and she was thrust into a world she didn't understand.

She'd been horribly homesick. She'd sent owls home with letters, and her mum had written quick replies back, but it wasn't enough for her. As an only child, she had been used to getting her parents' undivided attention.

What did she know of this world? The things that interested her dorm mates, she had never heard of: Quidditch and the latest Weird Sisters' song.

A month into her first term, she was ready to go home, give up magic and return to a school that taught subjects she understood. She was sitting in an empty classroom, the only room that she understood – it had pictures of a horse and carriage, of people in Victorian outfits lifting and carrying – when he had come in and caught her crying and writing a letter asking to go home.

They had talked and he had explained more to her about the wizarding world than anyone before. He, at least, had heard of the things she missed.

That was where it had started, if she was honest with herself. A silly girl with a silly crush on a kind teacher. She had dismissed it as a crush for five years before she realised how much she missed him last year during his sabbatical. She had been looking forward to his return, but now he was a different man. He'd always been soft-spoken before, more interested in books than people, but now he seemed broken.

Before, she had needed him, his kindly voice always ready to explain this new world to her. Now he needed her; he didn't know it yet, but he needed someone to put him back together. She had decided it would be her.

She wasn't a girl anymore. She would be eighteen in a month's time and next year, he wouldn't be a teacher, either.

It didn't take a Ravenclaw to see that pattern. Seven years, seven Defence teachers. Some had left in disgrace, some had left in normal circumstances – to a better job, to get married – but no one had lasted for two years.

As someone who had taught Muggle Studies, he would have none of those silly prejudices some wizards had.

She loved the Muggle world. Cinema was a passion of hers and she spent as much time there as possible over the holidays, or if not there, hiring videos to watch all the releases she had missed while in Hogwarts. It was only towards the end of the summer that she had gone to Diane's house for a sleepover and had watched _Ghost_ for the first time. It was unbearably romantic how love could last beyond death. She so hoped that this was the kind of love she would have. It helped that Patrick Swayze was a dish, too.

Still, this was another Monday morning in Hogwarts, and rumours were starting to circulate that Professor Quirrell was missing. He'd missed this morning's lesson and when Professor McGonagall had checked, his quarters were empty.

Speculation was sweeping the castle. Hearing some cruel jokes that brought tears to her eyes, she stepped into an empty classroom to compose herself, and that was when she heard the voice calling her name.

ooo000ooo

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, working through the staff requisition requests. Snape's potion ingredient requests had gone down. He normally slipped in some unusual ingredients that he used for his own private research as part of his faculty requirements. Albus normally granted about fifty percent of these. By what Snape was requesting, he could guess what areas he was researching. Strange that Severus had requested nothing out of the ordinary.

He was disturbed from this train of thought by a portrait calling him.

"Albus, that oaf of a gamekeeper is on his way to see you."

"Thank you, Phineas, but I have asked you to speak with more respect when referring to Hagrid."

They were interrupted by a booming knock on the door. "Come in, Hagrid, please."

"Beggin' yer pardon, sir, but there's something yer need to see in the forest right away."

"What, is there a problem Hagrid?"

"The centaurs came to me this mornin' and asked for you. They said this was wizard business an' that yer needs to come and see."

"The centaurs don't seek us out over trifling matters." Saying that, Albus rose to his feet, gathered a heavy and for him conservative cloak of purple with gold trim, and followed Hagrid out of the castle.

They hadn't ventured far into the forest when they encountered a group of centaurs waiting for them.

"Dumbledore, we do not welcome man into the forest, but this is a wizard problem and lest anyone accuse the herd, we are you letting you know."

"We thank you for the courtesy and the right of passage through these woods."

"We will depart now and allow Firenze to guide you." On saying that, the lead stallion turned and galloped off, flanked by the rest of the herd.

"Now then, Firenze, what has happened that the centaurs are willing to call me into the woods?"

"All will be revealed in good time, Albus, but I warn you to prepare yourself for a shocking encounter." Saying that, he led Albus and Hagrid through the forest. They hadn't gone far when he gestured to the scene in front of him.

Hanging from an oak tree was Professor Quirrell, quite obviously dead. Lying not far from his feet was another man that Albus vaguely recognised but couldn't quite put a name to.

"Oh 'struth," Hagrid muttered. "I'll just get him down, shall I, Professor?"

"No, I'm afraid, old friend, we must leave the scene for Madam Bones. As distasteful as I find the situation, she will want to see the site as we have. I cannot afford to anger Amelia at the moment. Not over something that will make no difference. They are both quite dead.

"Thank you, Firenze. This was something that we needed to know about. We will have to report this and there will be many wizards and witches who visit this clearing before they are satisfied. We are again in the herd's debt. Hagrid, will you wait here? I must go to the ministry immediately."

Later Albus sat in his office. Amelia had been surprisingly open with him in sharing more information than he expected. She believed that Quirrell did kill that man, Mike Carter; she also believed he had been responsible for another murder, too.

However, in her words, Quirrell's suicide stank worse than his body. While a more colourful way of putting it than he would, her assessment agreed with his own.

But what had really happened?

So many questions. Was it related to the stone? He would have to increase its protection, just in case.

Ooo000ooo

Luna and Sirius were sitting in Black Cottage's living room when the fire flared green and Ted's face appeared in the flames.

"Sirius, Amelia Bones has been in contact. She is trying to find you and wants to speak to you now. I can't emphasise the _now_ enough."

Luna looked over to Sirius, who shrugged; they had been expecting Madam Bones for most of the morning. "Ted, wait five minutes if possible. Then let her floo from your place." Ted's head disappeared from the fireplace and Luna picked up her mirror. "Mum, I need you at Black Cottage immediately."

It would appear that Selene was somewhat on edge, as the fire flared green and Selene stepped out of it within thirty seconds of Luna calling her.

She looked around the room, seeing Sirius and Luna sitting on sofas drinking tea, and she snapped at Luna. "I was expecting some sort of crisis, not a tea party."

"Sorry, mum, I forget how all this cloak and dagger stuff must be affecting everyone around me. Let's head to the library. Sirius has some guests who he will need privacy for. Sirius, don't let Madam Bones leave without speaking to us." Saying that, Luna led her mum out of the sitting room, leaving Sirius alone.

"Luna, just what is going on? First the party last night when you wanted to rush out, and then this morning, when you barely stopped to say hello."

"You know I'm not going to tell you everything, mum, but we tried to put Voldemort on ice last night. It was not entirely successful. But this isn't why I called you over. I want Madam Bones to know a few things and they would better coming from an adult, and I doubt she would trust Sirius on this issue."

Sirius was sitting in the living room when the fire flared green and he heard a voice from the hearth. "Hello, Black Cottage, this is Amelia Bones seeking permission to enter the residence."

Sirius smiled to himself; Amelia was always strict on protocol. "Permission granted."

She emerged from the fire and dusted herself down before entering the main part of the room. "Lord Black, thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

Sirius rose to greet her. "To be honest, Madam Bones, I was expecting you to visit today. One of my agents was rushed into hospital with a curse injury. Well, of course you'd be here to see me. Can I offer you some tea?"

"Please, Lord Black." Amelia sat opposite him on a sofa and glanced down at the cups on the coffee table.

"I have other guests here. They have gone to the library to give us some privacy."

After thanking the elf who brought her some tea, Amelia turned to Sirius. "I'll come straight to the point, if you don't object? Do you know what John Fletcher was working on that would cause anyone to kill him?"

"Possibly, yes, but specifically, no." Amelia's eyebrows rose at that answer. "I'm not being deliberately evasive, but Fletcher and his partner Mike Carter had a roaming brief. They were looking out for Death Eaters who were still about their old habits. I will be honest with you here, Madam Bones, because I'm not breaking any law. Although if some people found out what I was up to, they would be most unhappy. I do not believe that all those who claimed to be under the Imperius actually were. So I have agents looking for evidence of continued activity. The evidence we are trying to gather will have to stand up to the highest scrutiny in court. It's a slow process.

"I have found a way around that, though, which I'm guessing you'll disapprove of. For those who push the Pure Blood agenda, for those we hear using terms like Mudbloods, I bring the Black resources against them. I buy up debts. I buy up their favourite businesses and extend them credit they can't afford. I intend to ruin them. To do to them what my grandfather did to the Weasley family, or my father did to Susan's parents."

Amelia, who had been watching Sirius with a professional blank face, suddenly had to fight to control her shock.

"Until Michael married a Muggle-born, he was a friend of my father; afterwards he was just a blood traitor in my family's eyes. Your career, I'm guessing, would have been hampered until my father's death. So, what was Fletcher doing last night? I can't honestly say."

Amelia recovered her professional calm to ask, "You said Fletcher worked with a Mike Carter. Is this him?" She handed Sirius a photograph.

"Yes, that was him. I guess he's dead too?" Sirius asked in a downbeat voice.

"Yes, he was found this morning in the Hogwarts Forest. He had been a victim of the killing curse. He was next to the body of Professor Quirrell, who appeared to have hung himself. It would appear Quirrell killed both men, then hung himself. But the evidence doesn't match that simple theory. Quirrell had been hit by a number of stunning spells, so he would have been quite unable to hang himself at that time. I don't suppose your agents work in threes, do they?"

"No, it's not standard practice. In fact, I have very few teams of two. I mostly just use single agents, but then again, most of them have particular tasks to accomplish."

"Did either of the men have family?"

"No, neither of them had close family. They had both lost family in the first war, which is why they were willing to take on the more dangerous missions. I will get someone to pick up their remains and arrange burial."

"Do you have any reason to investigate Quirrell?"

"Nothing comes to mind. It wasn't on my instructions. Maybe just the fact he was the Defence teacher; some of them have been more interested in the dark arts than the defence. I have another theory, though. Some Death Eaters attacked and hung the former Muggle Studies teacher; my men crashed the party, but were too few in number to save him.

"It is possible. We detected multiple apparition traces in the woods. Well, thank you, Lord Black, for your time and your candour. Some would disapprove of your plans. I will just remind you that the Aurors exist for a reason and vigilantism is illegal."

"Before you go, Madam Bones, may I ask you a question?" Sirius watched her nod in consent. "Do you have political ambitions, Amelia?"

"I'm a female head of a very powerful department, Lord Black. It should be obvious I have ambitions."

"Let me see if I can phrase this right. Last year, my godson, in his campaign to get me free, nearly destabilised the minister to the point some were calling for Fudge to resign. If I had been critical of Fudge or if Harry had directly accused him, he would have gone. Let me be blunt: I don't like Fudge. He's too deep In Lucius's pocket. If I thought the next minister would be better than him, I would do my best to see him gone. Last year when he tottered, the people who looked most likely to replace him were even deeper in the Pure Blood camp than him. If he were to fall, Amelia, would you stand?"

"I have considered the minister's job, but I have also considered how much it costs to run a campaign and the things you need to do to get elected. So I don't think I'll make that step."

"If you were to stand, then House Black would offer you support. This at the very least would make up for the hindrance to your career my father tried to be. I would fund your campaign, but let you run it anyway you chose."

Amelia's eyes hardened. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

Sirius started to laugh. "That is exactly why I think you would be excellent at the job. Any other candidate would have snatched my hand off. You accuse me of bribery. What I want is someone in the minister's position who will run the ministry doing what they believe is best – not me, and certainly not Lucius. All I ask at this time is you consider it, and don't let obstacles like lack of finance affect your decisions. Now before you go, I think my other guest would like a word with you."

Sirius sent an elf to let Luna and Selene know that they could come through.

Luna had spent the time with her mum briefing her on the things she wanted her to bring up with Amelia. Selene had to rehearse them a couple of times so she could get the surprise out of her voice while talking about them. They were just about ready when an elf Luna didn't recognise came to let them know that Sirius and Amelia were ready to see them.

They returned to the sitting room, greeting Amelia as they entered, and sat on a sofa together.

"Hello, Selene and Luna, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, you have an excellent memory for names," commented Selene.

"In my line of work, it is necessary. So Sirius said you want to speak to me about something."

"Yes, but I don't know if you'll be able to do anything on just my word. The same source who let us know about Peter being a rat has brought us some new information. It is possibly more explosive than our last revelation."

"Alright, that's an intriguing build up. So what have you discovered this time?"

"Barty Crouch helped his son escape from Azkaban."

"What!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "The man who locked me up without a trial helped his son to escape. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because when you lose your temper, you do stupid things like give your godson to the first person you meet and challenge those who have wronged you to a duel in a Muggle high street."

Sirius sat back down as if he'd been struck by Selene's words.

"It's an interesting allegation. Do you know how he managed to get his son out?"

Selene told the story of Crouch's wife and son swapping places, her death, and how, although Crouch had let his son out of Azkaban, he had turned his home into another prison.

"That does all make a kind of sense if you know Crouch. He comes across as hard as nails, but he would have done anything for his wife. Once she died, he went back to his old nature and would never have let that animal that he calls a son have freedom. Your source is sure of their facts?"

"As sure as they were over Pettigrew being a rat." Selene confirmed looking Amelia in the eye.

"I'll definitely look into it. I'll have to walk cautiously though. Crouch is still a head of department and my former boss. I can't just storm his house on one person's word, no matter how good their information has been before. So what is this now, Selene? You just happened to find Harry Potter. You knew about Sirius's innocence and Peter's guilt. Now you know about Crouch and his son. I'd like to find your source and have a long talk with them."

"I'm sure you would, Amelia. Which is probably why they come to us and not you. Can I ask you one question?"

"Well, you just did, but you can ask another one, too."

"Have you spoken to Susan about Albus's welcome speech?"

"No, why? What has the old goat done this time?"

"I'll let you look into that one in your own time. But I'll name my sources on this one at least. Harry told Luna, who told me."

"Has anyone told you that you are infuriating, Selene?"

"It has been mentioned once or twice."

"Well, I came here about a murder investigation, but I don't know what I'm leaving with. Thank you, Lord Black, for your time. Selene, Luna. I need to head back. Is it possible to floo to the ministry from here?"

"No, we are not part of the public network. From here, it would be best to floo to Ted's house. Then travel from there," answered Sirius.

"Thank you again and goodbye. Lord Black, if you come across any record that might show what those two men were up to, let me know." With that, Amelia threw floo powder into the fire and stepped in.

There was a tense silence after Amelia left, which Sirius finally broke. "So when were you planning to tell me about Crouch?"

"Sirius, you can treat me like a child when I'm only two years younger than you. Which is fair enough, because I over-extend myself, but I will treat you like the hotheaded Gryffindor you are. If I'd told you about Crouch, you would have raided that place." Luna answered. Her frustration with Sirius clear to hear.

"Too right. Frank and Alice were friends of mine. Death is too good for Junior."

"Which is why Amelia was told before you were. "

Sirius settled back into the sofa. "Fine, so what do we do next? Have you spoken to Harry yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to discuss what to tell him. Quirrell won't be coming back and, as far as I know, he should be safe."

"Well, we've missed lunchtime. We'll have to wait for the evening meal now, so we have time to discuss exactly what to tell him. I don't think we should let him get too complacent."

ooo000ooo

While Luna and Sirius had had a busy lunchtime, Harry had spent his in one of his favourite occupations, Sally-Anne watching. He sighed and looked away, shaking his head.

"What's a matter, Harry?" asked Hermione, noting his mood.

"Hermione, promise me you won't wind me up over this and I'll tell you."

"Of course, Harry, I may tease you occasionally, but I'd never do anything to hurt you. So what's the matter?"

"Sally-Anne. I kinda like her but, I don't know, she seems really emotional. You can always tell what she is thinking."

"Is emotional a bad thing, Harry?"

"I don't know, I suppose not, but…" Harry hesitated. "Look, the Tonks are great, but I haven't always lived with them. My uncle was emotional, but all I saw of him was yelling and shouting and losing his temper."

"Ok, Harry, let's think about this for a second. You like Sally-Anne and are thinking about her as a girlfriend, yes?"

Harry nodded.

"Ok, and carrying that thought a bit further and talking hypothetically, one day, I guess you'll want to marry your girlfriend, whoever that is at that time in your life. Be it Sally-Anne, Susan or," Hermione looked around, "Lilith Moon."

Harry looked at her quizzically.

"You like redheads, don't think I haven't noticed. So do you think it might be a nice thing if the person you marry told you they love you now and again? Gave you unexpected hugs and kisses to show their love? In other words, was a bit emotional. Everyone has emotions, Harry; it's just which ones we allow to control us that make us the people we are. Fall for someone emotional if you want, provided they are happy emotional, not angry or moody emotional."

"When did you get so wise, Miss Granger?"

"Watching my parents. That is the sort of relationship I want. They have the same interests, they support each other, they can talk to each other either seriously or flippantly, and not one week goes by where one of them doesn't do something spontaneously romantic for the other."

"You're right, emotional like that sounds great. Thank you, Hermione."

"My pleasure, Harry. Just one thing. Not many people marry their first boyfriend or girlfriend."

"So who do you think you'll end up with?"

"Who knows? I may not even marry magical. What, apart from her hair, attracted you to Sally-Anne?" Hermione asked, switching the subject away from herself.

"Partially because she looks at me as a normal person. Snape was right in calling me a celebrity. I keep expecting some girls here to ask me for an autograph. I pretend not to notice, but you've heard some of the pointing and whispers that go on around me. Any girlfriend would have to treat me as Harry, not anything else." Harry lowered his voice. "Can you imagine if the allowance Sirius gave me became public knowledge? Think of the types of girls who would want to go out with me then."

"Well, as fascinating as this conversation is, we have History of Magic to go to. Come on."

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione had a simultaneous call from Luna.

"Hello, Luna, I was kind of expecting a call from you today."

"Harry, you are too smart for your own good sometime. I take it you noticed Professor Quirrell is not with you today. Well, although I'm not going to give you any details, he won't be coming back. Harry, I know you hate it when I keep things back, but I fear some people you have contact with may try to manipulate you into giving information away."

Luna watched Harry frown but nod in acceptance of her words.

"As for any threats you may be facing. All I can say is, previously the spirit fled and wasn't heard of again for another two years. This might mean you are safe, or it might mean we are in completely new territory. As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't know what is going to happen anymore than you do. Stay on your toes, be alert and as much for my sanity as your safety, tell me of anything unusual that happens."

"Do you expect anything to happen?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know, and I'm not really going to start speculating or getting you worried over my pessimistic guesses."

Harry and Hermione ended the call and shared a worried glance. Finally Harry asked, "Is this good news or not?"

"Well, they have gotten rid of a known threat, but they don't know if he's gone or if they made an unknown one."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

"Take it up with the door knocker. I've got homework."

"Hermione, this is serious."

"Harry, it comes down to us not knowing. Luna's edge has gone now. We are just like anyone else, we do one day at a time, and at this time I need to do homework."

o0o

When Luna ended her call, she looked across at Sirius. "He wasn't happy, but he took it well."

"None of us are happy, but what can we do?"

"We keep on with our other plans. There might be a bright side to all this. If Voldemort does ever return, the first thing he will do is cull a lot of Death Eaters."

"Was that in the back of your mind when you based the dungeon on Malfoy's?"

"No, I was just giving karma a bit of a helping hand. That cellar was the worst time of my life. I admit there were some fights and battles that were pretty bad, but they were over pretty quick. The time in that cellar lasted for weeks. Stuck in darkness, listening to the screams coming from your fellow prisoners." Luna shuddered, "I don't want to think about it. Any word off the Gringotts team?" Luna asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"They have been to the Riddle House and, apart from the dining room, have not discovered anything there. The psychic echo, I think they called it, where the Horcrux was created has given them some new areas to research. They are feeling quite positive at the moment. I'm inclined to bribe Sanchez to just destroy the cup. The goblins won't be happy, but I'll just give them money until they calm down."

"Let's keep that in reserve. We might need their help again at some point and we don't want to run the risk of antagonising them."

"I suppose. I'm just a little frustrated by today. Knackered, too, I've barely slept in twenty-four hours."

"I'll take that for the hint it is and see myself out. 'Night, Sirius. You should sleep well, you're unlikely to get another night like that for a while."

ooo000ooo

Clare was confused. Quirinus Quirrell was a kind and patient man: that was why she had been drawn to him. Possibly too sensitive, as well, which would explain his stutters and twitches.

His ghost was a different matter altogether. She had allowed him in, but now he wouldn't leave. She had hoped for a last goodbye before he passed on, but that was not the case. He knew of a relic, a stone, here in this castle that would restore him to life. His single mindedness on this subject scared her. He was demanding and controlling. His current demand was that she take him out of the castle late in the evening, close to curfew. Following his instructions, she headed nervously into the forest down paths she would never have dared to take in daylight, never mind the darkness of a Scottish evening in September.

She tripped over roots and caught her legs on brambles. She wanted to stop and look for doc leaves after walking into a patch of nettles, but he kept on pushing her forward towards some destination that he knew, but she didn't.

He spoke to her inside her head.

"You'll have to give me more control now."

"What? Why? I've already followed your instructions to come here. Now you want more?"

"There are things here that you aren't prepared for. I will need to speak through you in a language you do not know. If you hesitate, you may die. I wouldn't want to see any harm come to you, child. Let me have more control. For your own sake."

Voldemort cared nothing for this girl's safety, but she was useful at the moment. He had seen her thoughts when he had been in Quirrell; now he could read her thoughts and desires more clearly than she herself could. No matter how he tried, he was unable to convince anyone he loved them, but sincerity and concern he was able to fake.

"Please, Clare, I'd hate to see you come to harm."

Her control faltered and slipped and she allowed him further in. Now he was in a position where he could start to use her senses. He didn't want to have to go as far as he had with Quirrell and grow a new face. Her suddenly wearing a turban might be hard to explain. Besides, at the moment, he could leave her without too much effort. He had found himself anchored to Quirrell after he had taken up a physical home in his head. He could only leave him in death.

That old fool Dumbledore would notice if he started to leave too many bodies behind.

They headed further into the forest; just around the corner was the clearing he was looking for. There he was: his magnificent pet. All ten feet of him, dragging his club behind him. Now to find if he could control him as well in this body as he could in the last.

A.N.

If anyone has come across Clare before let me know so I can give credit.

She turned up fully formed in my imagination. Or I subconsciously stole her from somewhere.

Americans have it easy, you use the word date. I want to date her. She's my date. Would you like to go on a date?

Brits would use the term "go out with" Hence we have dialogue like Hermione and Harry's conversation.

While the Sally-Anne conversation is a little strange to have at eleven all I can go on is my experience of being eleven. I remember quite clearly deciding a girl I liked was too immature, so I decided to wait a few years to ask her out.

Of course on the occasions I actually spoke to her I was incoherent due to nerves and my own childishness, but in my head I was able to think things out like this. A few years later I liked someone else and a week later another someone else.

Thanks to Jedi Goat for her work on this.

Next chapter will be at least three weeks as I head of for a holiday and don't plan on taking my laptop


	20. Chapter 20

20

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter, and other characters.

A.N.

I remind you this is a T rated story I have no swearing, sex or violence in this chapter but some of the themes are quite dark.

Chapter 20

Clare was starting to relax.

She had initially been horrified when she had met the troll in the forest; worse still was when Quirrell had started to speak to it with her mouth. It had been some sort of nightmare to be trapped within her own mind and listening to herself speak a language she did not understand.

After that encounter in the forest, he had been quiet. She knew he was still there somewhere in her head; every so often she felt his impatience or anger with something she heard or thought but he hadn't asked any more of her or told her of his plans.

September had passed quietly, and they were into October now. She occasionally asked what they were waiting for. Quirrell had initially hinted that they needed to move quickly to outwit Dumbledore, but now he resisted any effort on her part to put whatever plan he had into action. She had even suggested plans of her own of how to get to the third floor corridor after curfew, even going so far as to try to go there herself.

That was the only hint of his plans she had.

"No, child." He mostly called her child now, and it infuriated her. "Albus will surely have the door alarmed. That is what our friend is for: he will distract and we shall enter then."

So Clare had been left with a mostly silent lodger in her head. Most days she could pretend that everything was normal, except she knew that it was not.

ooo000ooo

Albus was in his office, reviewing the information on his new appointment. Jacob Hallam had applied with disturbing haste after Quirrell's death, but considering how hard it had been to fill the Defence post when he had the whole of the summer to search for a candidate, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if it turned out to be full of Greeks.

He remembered Jacob from his time at Hogwarts, a Muggle-born Hufflepuff from the year 73-80.

His family had died in the war and Albus had thought him dead, too. It turned out he had moved to America and taken a job in their Auror department.

His credentials were excellent, but Albus couldn't help being suspicious. Still, the gossip the paintings related to him showed the students thought he was an excellent teacher, if nothing else.

Still, he would need watching. Recommendations were one thing, but Jacob would not be the first man to have his head turned by unlimited wealth and eternal life. It had taken some time to get him settled and his conditions negotiated to everyone's agreement. He had wanted insurance in case of permanent injury or death. A sensible precaution in this post, but the governors had complained about the cost. Still, he was here now and had started teaching.

Albus turned his attention to a note from Alastor. He reported that young Nymphadora showed excellent potential as an Auror and had a chip on her shoulder over her family's dark history. Albus hoped that she would jump at the chance to join his order. The invitation, when he finally made it, would be phrased as a chance to redeem her family firmly to the light side. Still, he would allow Alastor and, in time, Kingsley to spin her some stories about how the real work to battle the dark came from his organisation, not the Aurors.

All things came to those who waited, but still he could not be too leisurely in this. Harry needed his guidance sooner rather than later.

ooo000ooo

Harry and Hermione were sitting in the main library, working their way through their Charms homework. It was a point of honour within the house that Ravenclaws always got the best marks on any Charms work.

Hermione looked up to see two Hufflepuffs enter the library; the two looked around, trying to find an empty table to work at. Hermione nudged Harry and waved them over.

Harry looked up and stuttered out a greeting to the two girls who joined them at the table. Every so often, he would steal a glance at the two of them working opposite him. Megan had raven black hair that ran freely down her back. Her ability to hold a tan well into the autumn months could not be more different from Sally-Anne: her skin was so pale as to be translucent, and he could see the blue of her veins on her arms as she made notes on her parchment. Her hair inside the dark library took on the colour of dark copper; it was currently tied up in a high ponytail that danced and tickled her neck while she looked from one book to another.

As Harry glanced up on one occasion, he found Megan watching him. He met her stare for a moment or two, and then, when it became apparent she wasn't going to look away, Harry found himself getting irritated.

"What?" he snapped at her, keeping his voice quiet enough that it wouldn't carry to Madam Prince.

Megan continued to watch him before she spoke. "Can I ask you a question?" When Harry nodded his terse permission, she continued. "On the train, you only told us your first name, then at the sorting, you had Tonks added. Do you dislike being a Potter?"

Harry sighed in frustration. A fan-girl question. If Sally-Anne hadn't been at the table, he would have avoided the question, but as she was, he tried to rein in his temper. "On the train, it was nice to meet people as myself, not as Harry Potter. Most people think they know, or at least have an opinion about him. So it was good to meet you, Hannah and Tony and make a real first impression. As for the Tonks part of my name, I honour the people who adopted me. They aren't the first family I lived with since my parents were murdered."

Harry glanced over to Sally-Anne, who had gasped at that revelation. "But they are the first family who made me feel wanted. If I didn't honour my parents, I would just be Harry Tonks, which would be easier for me."

Sally-Anne timidly asked, "Why easier? What difference does it make if you are Potter-Tonks or Tonks?"

"I don't want to come off conceited, so it's a little hard to answer that one. Megan, can you explain it?" Harry glanced down, not meeting Sally-Anne's eye. While he might have been irritated with Megan for starting this conversation, Sally-Anne's question came out of genuine curiosity.

"The simple answer is: Harry is famous. When he was a baby, there was a dark wizard who was trying to take over the world. He attempted to kill Harry; he'd already killed his parents. But when he came to Harry, he couldn't kill him and something happened that made him end up killing himself. Since then Harry is known as the Boy-Who-Lived and is really famous in the wizarding world."

Sally-Anne's eyes were wide in wonder at Megan's tale. Turning to Harry, she asked, "Is that true?"

Harry grimaced. "As far as everyone thinks, yes." Harry had a tone of disgust in his voice. "It leaves out some questions I'd like answered, like how does anyone know what happened, as I was the only eye witness to the events and at eighteen months, I doubt I understood what was happening." Harry smiled but it never reached his eyes.

"Enough about me. I know Megan comes from a village that sounds like gargling with rocks."

"Gwyddelwern," Megan interjected.

"Exactly," said Harry, smiling for the first time in the conversation, "but where do you come from?"

"Shrewsbury." Answered Sally-Anne.

"I've heard it pronounced differently, is it Shrew or Shrow?" Hermione asked.

"Depends if you like football or rugby. The football team is Shrewsbury town, the rugby club, Shrowsbury RFC."

"I've never been there. Has anyone else?" After getting negatives from Hermione and Megan he asked, "What's it like there?"

"Oh, it's a beautiful medieval town. It has an abbey and a castle, and the River Severn runs through the centre of it. I used to enjoy going down The Quarry and watching it flow past; I could spend hours doing that in the summer." Sally-Anne took on a dreamy quality as she described the town. "The town has a real character, not like some places I've visited. You know how all McDonalds look the same? Well, not ours. Downstairs it has rough stone walls and huge wooden tables and chairs. The whole town is like that. It takes the best of the modern but keeps the best bits of the past. We have all the modern shops but they are hidden off in a precinct. The High Street is still full of unusual shops."

Harry gently asked questions and was able to find out about her primary school, favourite subjects, and what her parents did for a living. He was able to draw a picture of her life with her parents and her primary school.

Hermione interrupted after a while.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to go. We've got Defence soon and we'll need to put our books away before we go there."

"Will this be your first lesson with Professor Hallam?" Megan asked, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

"Yes, we've heard he's excellent, though," Hermione answered, the excitement in her voice obvious to hear.

"He is, although he's just a little unconventional," were Megan's parting words.

Harry and Hermione settled into the Defence classroom and looked around. The room was unchanged from when Quirrell was using it, except that on one wall was a urinal from a gents' toilet with a label above it reading, 'Fountain'.

Harry listened to the sniggers from the rest of the class and the questions as to what that was about. Hermione, sitting next to him, had her look of intense concentration on her face before she smiled.

"Oh, I get it, very clever."

Just then the new professor walked into the room. He was a touch under six feet tall and quite skinny. He kept his blond hair cut short above his narrow wire glasses that hid serious looking eyes.

"Ravenclaw first years, I, as you undoubtedly know, am Professor Hallam. Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts or, as I call it, Dada. So what is Dada?"

The question hung in the air before some hands went up.

"Could you introduce yourself before you answer? You, sir with the mop-like hair."

"Kevin Entwhistle, sir. Dada is learning to defend yourself from threats."

"I'm afraid not, Mr Entwhistle, that is defence. So I ask again: what is Dada?" Hallam asked with a smile.

This time most of the hands went down.

"Let's see, you at the front, my dear with all that hair."

"Hermione Granger, sir. Dada is a type of art, of which that thing on the wall is an example."

"Excellent, Miss Granger, five points to Ravenclaw. I guess your parents dragged you to many art galleries when you were younger. Yes, Dada was an art movement, best defined by what it was against. It was anti-war, although show me someone pro-war and I'll show you someone who hasn't lived through it. It was anti-establishment and anti-art. It was in your face and forced you to question it and your own values.

"This will be the way I teach you, my young Ravenclaws. From now to December the only thing you will need in this lesson is yourself and your brains, although I will be setting you reading from your textbooks. To be honest, a student of average intelligence could pass the first year exam just by reading the textbook. In January, I will begin teaching you the ministry sanctioned spells that they think you need to know. Depending on how quickly that goes, I will go back to our real business here."

He turned to the class. "Questions?"

Hands went up from several people.

"Yes, my Hebraic friend?"

"Anthony Goldstein, sir. What is our real business here?"

"To ensure that you come out of any encounter alive." Hallam turned back to his desk and picked up his class list, reading it. "Let me see. Macmillan, you are in your junior school and you have just knocked over the drink of Smasher McNasty. He grabs you and says, 'I'll see you outside the school gates at 3.30, twerp.' What do you do?"

Ernie paused to think about the question. "I tell a teacher that he threatened me."

"Look for powerful allies, good." Hallam checked the class list again. "Potter-Tonks, same question."

Harry didn't even have to think of his answer. "I go out the side gate at 3.29."

Hallam's face was beaming. "Excellent, Ravenclaw. Two questions and the two answers I was looking for. You wouldn't believe how long it took Gryffindor to come up with the idea of running. Five points each to Macmillan and Potter-Tonks.

"The best defence is to be elsewhere. True, there are times when you are backed into a corner, but there are also times when you make the decision to get into a fight in order to give your friends time to escape or prepare.

"Do any of you know the story of the three hundred Spartans?"

Hallam looked around, but no hands went up.

"How about the Alamo and Davy Crockett?"

Three hands went up this time.

"Both stories were very similar. A small group is met by an overwhelming force. They are offered the chance to surrender, but they choose to fight. The decision to fight gives the rest of their nation time to prepare and ultimately defeat the invading army. But the Alamo and the Spartans have one thing in common. Anyone guess what it is?

"Yes, dear, you with the black ponytail."

"Mandy Brocklehurst, sir. They are remembered as heroes, sir?"

"Never answer a question with a question, Miss Brocklehurst. Be definitive even when you are wrong. Yes, they are remembered as heroes, but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. Anyone else?"

"Terry Boot, sir. They all died."

"Yes, Mr Boot, they all died," Hallam answered sadly. "There may come a time to fight, there may even come a time to bravely fight even when you know that you cannot win, but always know that in every fight there is a cost. For losers and winners."

Hallam looked down a moment, lost in thought. Then he looked up again with a gleam in his eye.

"Everyone on their feet. " The class stood, and with a few gestures he banished the desks to the side of the room. "Lesson one of learning to survive, evasion." He took out a ball from his pocket and bounced it once on the floor, catching it again. "Don't get hit." Saying that, he threw the ball down on the floor and watched it bounce into the room. The Ravenclaws scattered as a group; the ball bounced off the floor and the back wall, coming off the wall at an improbable angle toward where Mandy and Lisa were standing.

"It won't stop until I tell it to and you won't be able to predict its path," Hallam called out as it hit Lisa and then bounced towards the centre of the room.

The class spent twenty minutes running, ducking and jumping to avoid the ball before Hallam called it off.

"The best thing to do when a spell is cast at you is to get out of its way. You will in time learn shielding spells. Some spells can't be stopped, some take so much energy to defend against that making a shield will end up exhausting you. Better to avoid than to shield: it takes less energy and might take you out of their range as well.

"Now that you're all sweaty and exhausted I'll finish the lesson early. Remember, stay alert and at your current level of skill, it's best to run away. Read a chapter of the text book. I'd normally set chapter one, but as you're Ravenclaws I'm guessing most of you are halfway through the book already, so just read another chapter. Just make sure you are familiar with the book by the start of January term. Class dismissed."

The class headed out, chatting excitedly about the lesson and comparing the number of times and places they had been hit. Harry drew back from his classmates and turned off down a side corridor at the first opportunity. He had enough problems coping with the fame that people thrust upon him; he didn't want to admit that he hadn't been hit during the exercise, especially when Michael had received admiring comments for only being hit four times.

Still, he had to admit it was a fantastic lesson.

ooo000ooo

Luna sat on a rise not far from The Rookery, but far enough away that the magic in the wards and that had built up in the area over the years didn't affect her portable CD player.

She hoped that the first line of the song she was listening to had a good meaning.

_A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace. _

But it might just be nonsense, judging by some of the other lines. She was singing along to it when she sensed someone behind her. She quickly rolled away from where she had been sitting, turned and pulled out her wand to find herself facing her father standing quite still with a smile on his face.

"Fascinating, Luna, but what does '_the time between the notes relates the colour to the scenes_' actually mean?"

"I doubt even the song writer knows, daddy." Luna lowered the wand and returned to sitting on the ground, where Xeno joined her.

"Are you all right, moonchild? You have been quite distant since your birthday."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with me. I've just been feeling a bit down since we caught him and let him get away. I vowed at the start of this time meddling that I would do all I could to stop people dying, yet I indirectly sent two men to their deaths. Did I just mean I'd do all I can to stop my friends dying?" Luna fidgeted with her wand while talking.

"The thing that has kept me distant is trying to figure out what's next. What will he do? What should we do? I've been relying too long on my future knowledge and not been thinking enough. So it is time to start thinking. Sirius made it quite clear on my birthday that he doesn't trust me to actually do anything, so I have to think our way out of this problem." Luna's voice hardened with resolve as she spoke.

"Are you arguing with Sirius? Your mum said there were a few crossed words when she was last with the two of you."

"I don't know. He has a point; my magic is too unpredictable to trust people's lives with my presence in a firefight. That just leads me to another problem. How old am I? I look in the mirror and I see a little girl. Do you know, dad, that I was going to settle down after one last field trip? Rolf and I, we were going to have a family, children were definitely in my plans. Now look at me. I'm closer to being a baby than being ready for them. Mum's warned me off Sirius, but that was never going to happen. He made Harry heir of the Black family for a reason and whoever I end up with, I want kids. I thought I was ready for them. All my friends had families by that time. I had a goddaughter I loved more than life. I messed up time so much I doubt she'll ever be born, though."

Xeno reached out to enfold his crying daughter in his arms as she continued to pour out her concerns.

"So what do I do now? Do I try to force Harry together with a girl who he won't be compatible with, so the same children are born? Do I head off to find my husband and let him know that we're going to get married one day? Am I still married? Do the vows I made still count? I just feel like I'm counting days on the calendar until something happens again that I know about. Next summer Lucius Malfoy slips a book into Ginny Weasley's ownership that leads to her possession. That's it, that's what I'm waiting for. So in the meantime I sit around pondering how many people my plans have caused to die or ruin their lives or not be born."

Xeno held Luna for a few minutes as she wept.

"Have you watched Harry's face as he talks about Ted and Andy?" he finally asked her.

"No, not really."

"Do so next time. It's quite amazing to see the joy and the love shine out. How's that insecure buck-teethed friend of yours doing in Hogwarts?"

"Hermione, you mean? She's fitting in really well. Did I tell you about how she made Draco look about an inch high?"

Xeno laughed at that image. "Just one more thing I want to tell you, and your mum may skin me alive for telling you this. When your sister is born you can be her godmother."

Luna pulled away from Xeno, her eyes widened in shock and her mouth moving up and down with no sound coming out.

"You caused all this, Luna. You got Harry to a place where he could experience love. You turned a girl whose only ability was to memorise text books into someone who could argue with an arrogant ass, but most importantly to me, you kept your mum alive and made us revaluate our lives and made us realise we want more children. So yes, I accept that it's hard for you, but don't make it harder than it needs to be. Talk to us. We might only be five years older than you, but we have brains in our heads and shoes on our feet. We will help you steer the direction you choose. Besides, it's just nice to have you home."

Xeno pulled Luna back into a hug. "Come on, Luna, let's go congratulate your mother."

"Yes, daddy, and dad, thank you."

ooo000ooo

Sirius apparated into the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic. He was familiar with the decorations of the place and so strode forward with purpose. His eyes never moved from his destination to glance at the fountain or the ceiling with its moving symbol. He was dressed in his most formal robes and his dragon skin boots made a beating tattoo of noise as he moved towards the security booth. He was clean shaven and his hair fell just past his shoulders today. His usually playful eyes held determination and arrogance as he pulled the persona of Lord Black around him.

The bored-looking security guard looked up from the crossword in the Daily Prophet.

"Wand."

"Yes, I have one, thank you. Now open the doors."

The guard looked again at Sirius, taking in his robes and demeanour.

"My pardon, sir."

Sirius's face hardened even more as the guard spoke.

"I mean, milord."

A slight nod from Sirius.

"I need to weigh your wand before you enter."

Sirius gave the man the same look he reserved for his boots after he had stepped in something smelly and squishy.

"But in your case, I could just let you in." The last was said in a squeak.

"Then do so."

The guard allowed Sirius to enter through the gates and he made his way to the bank of lifts within the next hall. It was only once inside one of the lifts that he allowed himself to smile.

"Mother, you would almost be proud of me for that."

The lift came to a halt and a voice rang out. "Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."

Sirius stepped out into the corridor, leaving his smile behind him, and became Lord Black again. He strode off purposely down the corridor. Five minutes later, he conceded that walking purposely wouldn't be enough and he'd have to ask directions.

He turned a corner and saw a witch with an eye patch walking towards him.

"You there, take me to Madam Bones's office."

"I beg your pardon; do you know who I am?" she huffed at him.

"Yes, you are the person who's about to take me to Madam Bones's office if you ever want another pay rise in your life."

Sirius watched her single eye take in his appearance, the cut of his clothes, and the fact that he wasn't wearing a visitor badge before she erred on the side of caution and reluctantly muttered, "Follow me."

Sirius smiled tightly as he followed the witch through the labyrinthine corridors. She swayed quite nicely and he found himself wishing she was wearing muggle clothing and not the shapeless robe she had on.

They finally reached an office with a large oak door labelled Director DMLE.

"Thank you for your service, my dear. Could I have your name, so I can commend your efforts to Madam Bones?"

Sirius found himself being scrutinised again. After the witch held his gaze for a moment or two past it being comfortable, she brusquely answered him. "No." She turned on her heel and marched off, leaving him alone.

Sirius opened the office door and walked into a reception area. A secretary sat at a desk to his right hand side and sofas sat to his left. The door to Madam Bones's office was directly ahead of him.

Sirius turned to the woman behind the desk.

"Is Madam Bones alone?"

"Yes, she is. Do you have an appointment? Can I have…."

At this point Sirius had stopped listening as he crossed the reception and opened the door to Madam Bones's office, closing it quickly behind him.

"You know, Amelia, security in this place is rubbish," Sirius said with a smile, slumping into the seat in front of him.

"Lord Black, you cannot just barge in here like you own the place," Amelia answered him with annoyance clear in her voice.

Sirius cocked one leg over the arm of the chair. "You're quite wrong, you know. I just did and no one seriously challenged me. So now I'm here and, let's face it, I'm more interesting than paper work. You can tell me how the search is going for a certain junior Death Eater."

"Now you're here, you can tell me what your agents were doing in the forest that night," Amelia countered.

"I honestly don't know. If I'd sent them to check on Hogwarts staff, then Snape would be the top of the list, not Quirrell."

"Now that is the first thing you've said on this subject I truly believe."

"Amelia, you wound me."

"Let's be blunt here, Sirius. You're playing your own game here. Albus also has a side out. You at least have had the decency to tell me you are playing. I also believe you are right that there are a number of unreformed Death Eaters active. Do you know that a number of wizards and witches have re-entered the country lately? Most for the first time in eleven or twelve years. The new Hogwarts Defence professor is just one of them. Their return started a month or two after your release from Azkaban. I would lay odds that the majority, if not all of them, are working for you." There was no humour in the smile Amelia gave Sirius. "Any comments, Lord Black?"

"I would say it is a credit to your work as head of the DMLE that so many members of our community feel it is safe to return after so long in exile." Sirius returned her smile.

"Well, at least your agents just work for you. Albus keeps recruiting from my Auror department. You have no idea how much that irritates me. Which reminds me, keep an eye on your cousin."

"Thank you," Sirius said with genuine surprise.

"You at least have told me your objective and methods. I don't know whether to entirely believe you, but from what you have told me I think I can guess what you are doing. That goat, on the other hand, has become active again and I don't know what he is up to. So here I am, sworn to uphold the law, and I have two semi legal vigilante groups running round the countryside up to Merlin knows what and you want to know what progress I have made on a politically sensitive allegation made less than a month ago. Would you be surprised if I answered none?"

"Not really, which is why I thought I might help you."

"What have you done, Sirius?" For the first time in the conversation, Amelia raised her voice. "If you have put Crouch on guard, I'll flail you alive."

"Neither of the Crouchs know anything is amiss. Keep calm, Amelia. I just thought I'd bring you this." Sirius reached into an internal pocket and pulled out a sealed jar. Inside the jar was a swirling silvery mist. "Do you have a pensieve?"

"I'll indulge you, Sirius, but I'm inclined to charge you for interfering with an investigation."

Amelia got to her feet and touched a section of wall. A panel rolled away, leaving a plain but obviously functional pensieve. Amelia poured the liquid mist into the pensieve and then dipped her head in.

Sirius sat sprawled on the chair watching her. He resisted the temptation to leave the chair and look at any of the paperwork that Amelia had left lying around.

Their relationship was on a knife-edge of trust at the moment, even more so when she finished watching the memory he had provided. He didn't want to do anything else to damage her trust in him.

After some time, during which Sirius had been polishing his nails, Amelia emerged from the pensieve.

"Where did you get that memory? No, on second thought, don't answer that question. Whatever lie you make up would only irritate me more. Damn, that was disorientating, flying around someone's house like that. Can I remind you that being an unregistered animagus is a criminal offence punishable by either a fine or six months prison time?"

"Is that all you have to say after watching that?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"No, after watching that, I have to say Crouch is going down."

A.N.

I'm still alive.

I had a good holiday, thank you for asking. Then I wasted a week on Pottermore. I'm Ravenclaw if you're interested and I can't cast spell to save my life, or open doors.

Then I realised writing is a habit and it was hard to start again, but eventually the words started to if not flow at least move.

I can pronounce Gwyddelwern thank you, Harry can't.

I like Shrewsbury.

Jon Anderson does indeed write strange lyrics. All rights their respective copyright holders.

Xeno reads Dr Seuss, that explains a lot.

A note on frequency, I'm slowing down. Light summer evenings are more fun to go out and enjoy than sit indoors typing.


	21. Chapter 21

21

Disclaimer

J K Rowling and their respective copyright holders own Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and other characters.

A.N.

I remind you this is a T rated story I have no swearing, sex or violence in this chapter but some of the themes are quite dark and getting darker.

A.N. 2. This is a reposting with added grammar and two thousand extra words. If you are a regular reader scroll down to the last section.

Chapter 21

Sirius left Amelia's office, pleased with his morning's work. While Amelia had not committed herself to a timescale, Sirius was certain that she would go after Crouch sooner rather than later.

Sirius had managed to beg a map off Amelia so he could find his next destination. He soon found himself heading down a slightly dingy corridor that ended with a door to either side of him. If it wasn't for the brass plaque on one door, he would have had a hard time guessing which was a broom cupboard and which was the office.

Sirius decided that barging in would set the wrong tone, so he knocked on the door and waited patiently to enter.

A rather flustered Arthur Weasley opened the door.

"Hello, Sirius. Come in, but be careful what you touch. I've just come across a rather wonderful Muggle thing: blue ticks. They work just like a sticking charm. I've been using them to put up some Muggle pictures."

Sirius looked around the office that must not have been much bigger than its neighbouring broom closet. Two desks took up the majority of the space, the rest taken up by filing cabinets on top of which files were piled almost to the ceiling. Across Arthur's desk were many little blue pellets.

Arthur began to try to roll them up and get them into one lump rather than the bits he had everywhere.

"This is the new poster I got today." Arthur proudly gestured to the wall behind him. The poster showed an electrical plug with its top removed, showing the wires leading to various pins. Across the top of the poster, the letters PXR5 were emblazoned.

"Wonderful people, Muggles. The things they invent to replace magic." Arthur was unpeeling little blue spots off himself as he talked.

"So, Arthur, have you given any thought to my offer?" Sirius asked to divert Arthur from a long lecture on the wonders of Muggle inventions.

Arthur slumped in his seat. "I have. I'm afraid I'm going to accept. At least on behalf of my children. I'm aware of the teasing they get off some members of society. I have chosen this life. I could get a better job if I decided to put aside this obsession with Muggles and their welfare." Arthur laughed a bitter little laugh.

"I believe that you judge a man not by how he treats his betters, but those who he is better than.

Some in our society treat Muggles as nothing more than creatures to use for their own amusement. I do my best to stand up for them and oppose those who treat them as such. It is not a popular idea, so I get a broom closet for an office, no resources, and no staff to speak of. I am a department head, technically, although my pay band doesn't show it.

"I can't ignore how hard it is for my children. Bill and Charlie didn't get it too bad. Bill had mostly new things. But Ron is getting hand me downs that have passed through five sets of hands before him.

It doesn't help that Ginny, being a girl, gets if not new clothes, at least ones that are new to the family. No, I can't ignore the effect this is having on my children, so I will accept restitution from you, but not charity."

Arthur, who had been talking with his head slumped, looked up and his tone hardened at the last phrase.

"I understand, Arthur, and I respect you for the work you do. I have my own resources that I'm using for the betterment of society. I believe you and I share an ambition." Sirius lowered his voice. "We would both like to find evidence that could land Lucius in Azkaban."

"If you ever found something out, I would be more than willing to carry out an official raid on his property." Arthur had an eager tone to his voice.

"Personally, Arthur, I'd love to find him using an Unforgiveable, but I'll settle for walking too slow in a no-loitering area. If you ever hear a rumour that you can't officially proceed on, let me know, as I might be able to do something with it."

Arthur laughed at that idea. "I understand completely, Sirius."

"Now then, Arthur, I shall set up a vault for you. I know Hogwarts fees, so I'll ensure there is enough money to meet the cost of putting four children through the school. I'll increase it next year for Ginny. I'll also add ten percent for school supplies for all of them."

"My lord, that is too generous. Five percent would be too much."

"Arthur, I know what was taken from you. This doesn't begin to equal that, but I know you would never take that much."

"Fine," sighed Arthur.

"The thing I want to know is: is there anything I can do for Charlie?"

"I will think on it and let you know."

"Thank you, Arthur. It has been nice seeing you again."

Sirius cheerfully made his way to the lifts and headed back down to the entrance foyer. He headed back out into Muggle London, as it was referred to. Taking his Bonnie from out of an inside pocket and bringing it back up to a size he could ride, he roared away into the traffic.

ooo000ooo

It was a cheerful and optimistic Luna that threw floo powder into the fireplace and asked permission to visit. She was allowed entry by an elf who promptly disappeared to tell Sirius of her arrival at Black Cottage.

"Hello, Luna, how are you?" There was a note of caution in Sirius's voice as he entered the room.

"You'll be pleased to know I've gotten myself together. I had a few problems coping after he got out." Luna shrugged. "My dad has convinced me that I shouldn't feel responsible for everything that happens. It appears I'm not god, so my knowledge only goes so far. But it's time to get ourselves together again. If you still need my help." Luna couldn't help herself and put that last comment in. She hoped Sirius didn't blame her directly for the death of his men, but she gave him the option to go it alone if he so chose.

Sirius settled into an armchair. "Of course I want and need your help. Luna, you are the general in this campaign. I might control the men on a day-to-day basis, but we do as you ask. Things went wrong with the last plan, but it was something no one could foresee. Have you ever heard the saying that no plan survives first contact with the enemy?"

Luna nodded and let out a little breath that she had been holding. Sirius was still willing to work with her; she felt the tension she'd been holding ease. "So how has everything been going? Anything to report?"

"Sir, no, sir." Sirius jumped to his feet and pulled off a sloppy salute. Sitting back down, he paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "I've pulled out of negotiations with Cuthbert for the Riddle house. The curse breakers have everything they need out of it. Buying it would have stretched my cash reserves too far."

"Is that a problem? You're not bankrupting yourself doing all this, are you?" A note of worry was back in Luna's voice.

"It's only a problem paying the commission the Goblins charge for converting Galleons to Muggle cash. The Black fortune could bankroll what we are doing several times over. In fact, some of the schemes we have put in place have or will make me more money. Every time I buy a business I will eventually make money back, or if not me, Harry or his heirs. I'll also make even more in the long run if we can get the Malfoys in a weakened state – I can buy up businesses that they now control.

So when I say my cash reserves would be depleted, I mean the Muggle currency I hold.

Everything else is just ticking along.

"Sanchez has hinted that in the right circumstances she will destroy the Cup, to remove the Horcrux.

I will be able to persuade Amelia to stand for Minister if we need her to. Unfortunately Susan wasn't paying much attention at the feast, so if we want her to go after Albus, we'll have to be more direct."

Luna pursed her lips in thought. "Albus isn't the enemy, but I'd like him off-balance. If we stop him from stepping up to lead in a crisis, more people will be alive at the end of it. Him included. " Luna sat upright, making a decision. "If the choice is his reputation or peoples' lives, we'll damage his reputation. Next time you speak to Amelia, let her know about Fluffy."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "Apart from that, not much has happened. Those minor Death Eaters we are targeting have fallen a little deeper into our web. No information on Malfoy, Nott or that Umbridge woman."

"Who of the Death Eaters could we neutralise now?" Luna asked, sitting up straighter.

"I'd have to check my files. I know Yaxley for certain, possibly Waldon Macneir." Sirius stared off into the distance as he tried to remember the details.

"We should start taking them down, then. Not all at once, but every few months. Some legally, if we can, others however we can. Even if Lucius tries to bail them out, it will start to have an effect on his cash flow."

Sirius smiled with genuine warmth at Luna. "It's good to have you back, Luna. I was beginning to worry about you."

Luna fought to control a blush. "Thank you. It's good to put my brain to some use other than moping. So that leaves us with two little details. What is Voldemort up to, and where is the last Horcrux?"

"Glad we only have such small worries to deal with." Sirius paused. "Do we have any hints on either?"

"Only guesses and suppositions. My guesses shouldn't be taken as more definite than anyone else's." Luna paused to gather herself. This was the thing she was worried about most: that her guesses would not be questioned and send them off on a wild goose chase. "On the last Horcrux, Albus was able to find it, so I believe it is linked to Voldemort's past. His father's house was a blank, but we don't know much about his mother."

"Speak for yourself. I know quite a bit. Merope Gaunt of Little Hangleton created quite a scandal when she ran off with the local squire's son. Officially, it was her brother Morfin who was convicted of the murder of the Riddle family, when we know _he_ committed that."

Luna listened in wide-eyed amazement to Sirius, who was looking increasingly smug.

"How did you find all this out?"

"I have all sorts of people working for me, Luna. Some are good at Dark Lord hunting; some are good are digging up dirt."

Luna considered what Sirius was telling her and jumped to the only conclusion that made sense. "You've got Skeeter working for you, haven't you?"

"In six months' time, there will be a new book on the shelves. I believe the working title is 'You Don't Know Who: The True Story of a Wannabe Dark Lord.'" Sirius gave Luna his number two smile: a combination of cockiness and smugness.

Luna laughed with amusement. "Fantastic. That will also make the old families who gave him approval, if not support last time, some questions to answer. So what else has she dug up on him?"

"I've told her I want as much information on his childhood as possible. So she is researching and, if possible, interviewing the children he grew up with in his orphanage. It was Albus who conducted his introduction meeting before Hogwarts. Rita is dying to find some dirt that proves Albus allowed another Dark Lord to mature under his nose. I've told her to leave it for another book if she does. I want Voldemort – or, as I now call him, Tom – I want his reputation destroyed. Destroying Albus's reputation might be where Rita gets her kicks, but I don't want the distraction at the moment."

Luna sat back in her seat, watching Sirius get more impassioned as he spoke. "It's times like these that I suddenly realise just why it has become a rule in our society that you don't mess with the Blacks."

Sirius's smile was back on his face, preceding a comment that was at least going to amuse him. "You can try and get this dog to come to heel, but always remember it comes with a full set of teeth."

"Yes, and it's not easily house broken, either." Luna laughed as Sirius's face turned from a smile to a scowl. "So, knowing what you do of his past so far, if you were a megalomaniac wannabe Dark Lord, where would you hide a Horcrux?"

Sirius paused to consider the question. "Let's see. The Locket was in a cave for some reason. Diadem is at Hogwarts. Cup and Diary with his followers. We have enough information to make us suspect this is hidden, not given. I would go for the orphanage site, then; if not there, I'd try somewhere connected with his mother."

Luna nodded, agreeing with Sirius's interpretation. "So we need to get the address of the orphanage and, if not there, do we know where his mother's family home was?"

"Only that it was in Little Hangleton, but it shouldn't be hard to find, considering the size of the village."

"I think we should get this information to a psychological profiler. That way we can get some more insights on his character and some predictions toward his future actions."

"I've never heard of them. What do they do?" Sirius admitted.

"What year is it?" Luna paused and looked off into the distance. "There is a film out soon – or maybe out already – that will answer that question for you, Go get a new wardrobe and go see _Silence of the Lambs_. That will be a test to see if you can move in the mundane world without being stared at like last time."

"I thought people were staring at the handsome man inside the clothes."

"Some might. There was one man who was looking at your bum last time we went out. Not many people wear as much velvet as you consider normal in their daily wardrobe. Your dragonskin boots are a bit eye-catching, too."

Sirius coughed to cover his embarrassment. "So what clothes would you recommend?"

"It's fairly simple, Sirius. Get some cash, wander up any high street, find a shop called Marks and Spencers, and buy yourself clothes from the menswear section. Look around you at what other people are wearing. Boxing gloves, flip flops and a summer dress is not a combination that would work well for you."

"Even I know that," Sirius said, laughing.

"I know some purebloods that don't. If in doubt, take Dora: she has a remarkably good idea of mundane fashion." As usual, Luna's face clouded over while mentioning Dora's name.

"What is it with you and her? Don't you like her?"

"In my last life, she saved my life, but in doing so ended up being killed. Bellatrix was coming after me and Dora took her on to give me time to run. I didn't. I just got some friends together and headed back, just in time to see Bella cut her down. The three of us attacked Bella and found out exactly what the word outclassed means. We were lucky to be alive at the end of it.

"So every time I see Dora now, I have to resist the temptation to declare a life debt to her. But I'm also reminded of the sight of her dying. She, even more than Harry, is why I'm doing all this. It's funny, really. The ones I am desperate to save the most are the ones I've barely spoken to this time around."

Sirius's eyes widened as Luna spoke. "I forget how hard this must be for you. You have told us you are trying to avoid a war, but it's only when you say things like this that remind me what the consequences of failure are. So what should we do first?"

Luna paused to consider the question. "Halloween is this coming Thursday. I don't want to do anything too big this week. Consider yourself on call. So see Dora, go shopping, start the wheels in motion of taking some Death Eaters out of the picture. I don't want to be negotiating a trap to get to a Horcrux when we get a panic message from Harry that something bad has happened."

"What's so bad about Halloween?"

"Let me see." Luna counted off on her fingers. "In Harry's first year, Quirrell-Voldemort lets a troll into the school. Second year, the Chamber of Secrets is opened; third year, you break into the school and take a knife to the Fat Lady; fourth year, he is entered into the Triwizard Tournament. The next few years are quite quiet, but it is enough of a pattern to make me wary."

"How about I promise not to attack the Fat Lady? Will that make you feel better?" Sirius joked.

"I'm probably worried about nothing, Quirrell is neutralised, I have plans for the diary, you are unlikely to attack the Fat Lady, and even Amelia at her most cautious will have Barty before he puts Harry's name in the goblet. Having said that, I will still be calling Harry every couple of hours on Thursday."

"Probably not the best idea. Just let him know that Halloween was a key date for you last time and he needs to contact you if anything unusual happens."

Luna slumped down in her chair. "You're right, but I'm going to be climbing walls by the end of the evening."

"Whatever keeps you from passing on your stress to Harry."

ooo000ooo

It was Thursday evening, and the Halloween feast was in full swing. Clare could hear the noise from the hall even in this part of the castle. They had come in from some passageways that her visitor assured her no one else knew of. She doubted he was really Quirrell now; the impatience and temper he displayed could not have come from that sweet man. Still, it would be over soon. He had promised tonight would be the end of it.

Following behind her was the troll. As they passed a corridor intersection, she turned and allowed him to speak to the troll with her voice.

The troll lumbered off down a corridor away from them.

"Quick, now, up to the third floor," he demanded of her.

"But what about the troll? This is a school full of children – you can't just let it go, anyone could be hurt."

"The beast is a distraction. A ghost or a portrait will alert Albus, and he will lock down the Hall with everyone in there. This will mean that he is too busy to attend to all the alarms that will go off when we open the door to the corridor. But only if we are quick. Move, girl."

All anyone watching would have seen was Clare rocking from foot to foot as she held an argument within her own head. Finally, she rushed down the corridor away from the troll. When she came to the staircase, she waited for it to move to the right ending point. She counted off the sequences in her head as it finally moved to where she needed it.

She rushed up to the third floor corridor, the forbidden floor, and took out her wand.

Clare could feel the anticipation of the other consciousness rising as she approached the door.

In the Great Hall, the feast was underway. Harry was starting to relax; he had had separate calls today from Sirius and Luna telling him to be on guard and making him swear that he'd keep them both informed if anything unusual happened.

Hermione nudged him as was about to put another slice of cake into his mouth. Turning around, he saw Peeves the poltergeist escorted into the Hall by the Bloody Barron. The two spirits flew directly to the top table and floated in front of Dumbledore.

They watched the jovial expression fade from Albus's face. He motioned for the staff to gather around him. Hallam seemed to disagree with something he said, but he accepted a counter suggestion. The Hall was quieting as more and more students could see that something out of the norm was taking place.

Harry slipped his mirror out of his pocket. "Sirius, Luna?"

The response was worryingly quick. He guessed they had their mirrors out, waiting for a call.

"Both here," Sirius answered, his voice tight with concern. "Is there a problem?"

"Something is happening. The top table looks tense. I'll leave the connection open so you can hear if they tell us anything."

Albus rose to his feet. By now, most of the Hall was looking at him. He fired a blast from his wand that sounded like a fire cracker.

"If I could have everyone's attention, please. A situation has arisen that means we are calling the feast off. I want all students to return to their dormitories at once. The Heads of Houses will speak to you and organise you." Saying that, Dumbledore beckoned to Hagrid and the two left the Hall.

"Harry." Sirius's voice called him from the mirror. "Luna says this is too close to how she remembers things happening. We will be on the grounds in five minutes. I can get into the castle if I need to. Keep us informed of what's going on."

Flitwick began organising his House. Harry and his fellow first years were soon surrounded by the rest of the Ravenclaws, with the seventh years making up the final ring. There was a commotion from the Hufflepuff table next to them as Sprout noticed that one of her seventh years was missing.

But Flitwick didn't hesitate in sending his House off to their dorms. "Can't be helped, really," muttered Flitwick to McGonagall, "our Houses have better defences than the Hall, just the risk of moving worries me."

"We obey the Headmaster, as usual, and hope he knows what he's doing."

As Harry trudged along, surrounded by a mass of bodies, he looked at Hermione, but he pulled out his mirror before asking, "What do you think is going on?"

Sirius's voice had a slight echo as he answered. "There is a troll in Hogwarts. They are getting you to the dormitories so they can be locked down. I'm in a passageway that I'm hopeful is still secret. If you call, I can be there in a matter of minutes."

Harry and Hermione shared a tense glance. "I think I'm starting to understand what 'ignorance is bliss' means," Hermione muttered as she gripped her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white.

They continued their journey in nervous silence. Toward the Ravenclaw common room, unnoticed by everyone, a figure followed them, staying close to the shadows.

Clare's first use of accidental magic as a child was on a dog. The animal in question opened its mouth and all its teeth fell out. Clare could remember it to this day; it had been a German Shepherd and had, from her perspective as a five your old child, towered over her.

She had approached it at a run and went to pet it. Her mother's shout, loud in her ears, caused her to turn suddenly, so she never saw it bite her: just felt the sharp pain on the back of her leg as its teeth sank in. The dog opened its mouth to bite again, and that was when its teeth fell out.

To this day, she still feared dogs. When faced with a boggart, it always turned into a dog. Sometimes it was a German Shepherd; other times, a Rottweiler with glowing red eyes. That's what came from watching too many horror films.

In front of her now stood the mother of all boggarts. Before her passenger could offer any advice, she took out her wand, pictured the three-headed dog as a toy poodle, and cast Riddikulus.

There was no effect. At least, no positive effect. The dog started to snarl. The lips on three sets of mouths rolled back to show three sets of teeth. The dog's yellow eyes all focused on Clare, and the dog's growling rose in volume.

"Er... good doggy." Clare took a step back as she spoke.

The central head jerked forward to snap at her, closely followed by the right. Beyond thought now, acting on pure adrenaline, Clare turned and ran. She didn't bother to close the door; she just ran. The staircase had begun to move away. Clare jumped, and her toes just made contact. She fell forward then, off-balance, her arms windmilling to try and help her stay upright to no avail. Then she tumbled her way down that level. As she rolled, she saw the dog bashing away at the doorframe of the corridor. She got to her feet, battered and bruised, and looked back just at the moment when the door frame gave way, allowing the dog enough space to squeeze though.

She plunged on. She didn't plan her escape; she just ran, out through the main doors and out into the grounds. She didn't know where she was running to, but she did know what she was running from. All the while, the voice in her head screamed at her to stop.

Within the castle, the dog, unable to follow Clare, caught an interesting scent on the breeze and plodded off along a corridor to investigate.

The Ravenclaws had reached the fourth floor when suddenly a scream of loss pierced the night.

Jessica Tilden, a seventh year at the front, called a halt. A second scream quickly followed the first. This second scream was one of pain.

"Alright, everybody, get moving. We move off at a jog. Penelope, you're a prefect, move next to the firsties. Shout out if they can't keep the pace. Right, let's go." Penelope moved back to follow Jessica's instruction, and the House set off again. This time, they moved at a jog.

Harry felt the mirror vibrate. "What's happening?" Sirius asked, his voice clipped with tension.

"We don't know. We just heard a scream from somewhere below us. Someone is in trouble," Harry answered.

"What about you?"

"Our seventh year prefects have got us jogging back to our common room." Harry stumbled over a step as he jogged.

"Potter, put down that mirror and watch where you are walking. Time enough to check if your ponytail is in place when we get safely back," Penelope scolded him.

With a shrug, Harry put the mirror away.

Sitting in a secret passageway, Sirius and Luna were listening tensely to the sounds coming from the mirror.

"Well," said Luna. "I guess Ravenclaws are showing their intelligence. Gryffindors would have run en masse towards the screams."

Sirius just grunted in reply, looking at the mirror in frustration. "What I wouldn't do to have the Map at the moment. I'm calling Hallam." Pulling out a second mirror, he called Hallam. "Situation report."

Hallam's voice came through, slightly out of breath. "The Ravenclaws are heading up the stairs to the fifth floor now. They have had no encounters so far."

"Stay with them until they get to the common room, then go back to working for Albus." Sirius ended the call and turned to Luna. "You have no idea how hard this is for me, to sit here waiting in reserve."

Luna raised one of her pale eyebrows at that comment. "Really? I may not be a Gryffindor, and I don't instinctively run towards danger, but this waiting is not easy. We need to keep your knowledge of the secret passages a secret. There will be many options to be the heroes running to the rescue before we are done. Hallam is watching Harry. If the troll is following its last pattern, then it will come nowhere near him."

"Logically, I agree. This is why I'm waiting here, but damn me..." Sirius trailed off as he tried to voice his concerns and frustration.

They stood in the soft glow of light given off by their wands, waiting impatiently. Almost at once, Sirius's two mirrors went off together. Luna took Harry's call and Sirius, Hallam's.

After a moment, they looked at each other. Harry and Hermione were safe in their common room. They could relax at last.

Out on the edges of the forest, Clare came to a halt. Exhausted from her flight, she was bent double and taking in huge deep breaths of air. She was starting to shake as the adrenaline in her system died down and all the bruises she had received falling down the stairs started to make themselves known. Suddenly, she felt herself shunted off to one side.

"You stupid waste of skin. You have cost me a chance at immortality. I will reward you for that soon." She watched in horror as she started walking further into the forest. No longer able to exert any control over her body, she could only watch. Once they had passed the Hogwarts ward line, she apparated away.

**A.N. **

Well that took some time.

Quite a long note here.

This is where I'm ending Snorckark, obviously the story doesn't end so I'm writing a new story called The Time of Consequences.

If you are one of those strange people who have this on story alert I suggest you move to author alert.

Until now I've been following a parallel course to canon this will end quite quickly in the new tale. For there to be any tension to give Tom and his side any chance I need to give him as many powerups as I have given the good guys.

I will also be raising the rating to M, not that I am able to write gratuitous but it will allow the villains to be villainous without me worrying have I over stepped the mark.

Thank you for reading and patience.

While waiting for the next chapter I have written a tale of 10k words that I rather like called The Sins of the Father. Check it out.


	22. Chapter 22

A.N.

I am breaking rules here, but this is a note to let you all know the next chapter is now up as a new story, The Time of Consequences.


End file.
